Learning to Live
by No Pain No Gain
Summary: Ichigo ends up with new house guests after finding two wounded Espada on the run from Aizen. But while he learns there's more to these familiar faces than just bloodlust and violence, they'll struggle to erase the past and learn to live. GxIxU FRIENDSHIP.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:**

**Before I say anything, I only have one thing to do: HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAAAA.**

**Kay, I'm done laughing at my own stupidity. I laughed cause I'm currently on writer's block for my Zelda story and finishing up on my Naruto story, and for some reason, decided to spawn a Bleach story at the same time xDD I'M SORRY, EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWED MY OTHER STORIES AND EVEN SORRIER TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWED MY ZELDA STORY Q_Q My apologies, sincerely ):**

**Okay, I shut up nao. Let me introduce myself. Hello everyone. I'm LoZ4Life. I like Legend of Zelda, but have recently lost interest in the fandom (take note that I said fandom and not actual games) so I wanna change my name but I'm too known as LoZ4L to change it now so yeah, I'll stop ranting about my name now. Anyways, I've recently started watching Bleach... And haven't finished yet (I'm at episode 163, don't bash me Q_Q) and this idea wouldn't stop bugging me, so I HAD to put it down somewhere. It'd be much appreciated if you could help me develop my nonexistant skillz in this fandom as well (:**

**Anyways, I promised a REAL summary in the SHORT frontpage summary, so here it is (: Enjoy, and see if you like it. **

_**If they could, they would have stopped Aizen. Then again, what could two measly Espadas do against their master...? They ran, that's what they did. They ran and left the pain behind, hoping to find salvation in the new world opening in front of them. But where there is sunlight, shadows are cast, and Aizen doesn't seem too willing to let them off the hook. Thankfully for them, a certain human teenager seems up to challenging the odds in their favour."We failed, and now Hueco Mundo is falling apart. All the other Espada are dead. And Aizen is still after us." Grimmjow explained, Ulquiorra stiffening. Silence. And then, Ichigo sighed. "I'll help you." NOT yaoi, GrimmxIchixUlqui FRIENDSHIP, AU, very slight OOC-ness, rated T for blood, violence, mentions of implied rape, abuse and swearing. Adventure/Friendship/Angst.**_

**Kay, hope that sounds good to you. If you do think so, please keep reading. If you don't, then sorry if this story doesn't sound appealing to you ):**

**In any case, I'll shut up and let you read the prologue. Kinda vague at first, also, I tried not to make the chars too OOC, but kinda ended up making them look weaker than they actually are (cause Grimm and Ulqui are STRONG MEN ;D) but yeah, hope you can deal with that.**

**Also, for the Alternate Timeline, it's kinda warped so listen well O_O" The Hueco Mundo arc hasn't happened. The Espada and Aizen cause lots of trouble around Karakura Town and Soul Society, but haven't kidnapped Orihime or anything. Aizen is in posession of the Hogyouku nonetheless. Grimmjow, Ulquiorra and Ichigo have met and fought a lot before.**

**KTHXENJOY~**

**(P.S: I HATE THE FORMATTING.)**

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**His footsteps clattered on the floor as he ran down some stairs. Blood was dripping down from his shoulder, making a trail behind him as he panted for breath. It had happened. He knew it would happen someday, and now it had happened after all.

They had failed for the last time.

And Aizen-sama's...

No... Aizen's last straw had been pulled.

More rubble fell from the rumbling ceiling, almost crushing the frantic Espada running for his life.

He didn't want it to end like this... He still had a lot of things to do before dying... He didn't want to die yet.

The others had all been caught in the blast. One by one, he had watched his comrades fall. One by one, he started losing everyone he'd grown up with. He never realized how much they meant to him until they started dying.

His heart beat fast as he looked down. He almost could have cried. But Arrancars were hollow, heartless. They weren't supposed to harbour feelings. And so, he couldn't cry.

The Sexta Espada _wouldn't_ cry.

Everything he'd known was dying. He didn't realize what was going on until after they were called to Aizen's throne room. He didn't realize what was going to happen until after Aizen yelled at them for being so incompetent. He only realized how much trouble they were all in when he had said that they had failed him for the last time. And he only realized he was going to die right there and then when Aizen drew his zanpakuto.

They started falling down like mere insects. Already, half of them –including him- had been paralysed by his enormous reiatsu... and then his lightning fast attacks... Yammy fell... Then Halibel... And Nnoitra... Szayel... Even Starrk...

He kept slaughtering them without feeling. The sadistic grin on his face wouldn't disappear in the least as he called them weak and worthless. Their blood coated the floor as the thumps of dead bodies and Aizen's maniacal laughter filled the room. And that's when he got aware of his own quickening breathing.

And he'd turned around and left just as Leroux had taken his last breath. He exited the doorway just as the next attack, intended for him, tore through his shoulder.

"Run, Sexta, run! Run for your pitiful life! Your failure will not go unpunished, so for now, believe you can escape and run, run towards your own doom!" he'd screamed after him.

But the blue-haired Espada had refused to believe him. He'd forced his entire being and every fibre of will he had left to believe he'd live to see tomorrow.

And so he ran.

With Aizen's crushing reiatsu running loose, Las Noches was slowly beginning to crumble. Soon, there would be nothing left of the previously-majestic structure, the center of all Hueco Mundo.

And all because their ambush on Soul Society had failed.

It had gone perfectly at first. The Espada, some Privaron Espada, and their Fraccions, accompanied by Tousen and Gin, had successfully infiltrated Soul Society. Their mission was to eliminate all the captains, then place Szayel's newly developed explosives on some key points of Seireitei. Then, once they'd all be done, they'd just have to detonate, and boom, Seireitei was gone. Such a simple plan, but somehow, they had messed up.

Soul Society had been expecting them. Somehow, they'd known. They had set ambushes up at their targets and had quickly overwhelmed them. Having no other choice than to retreat, the Arrancars and the defected Shinigami had fought back to return.

The Privaron and most of the Fraccions had been lost in the battle. All the Espada had been badly wounded, and Barragan and Aaroniero had fallen. Ulquiorra had been so badly wounded that he had been sent immediately to the medical division upon their arrival home.

And what had pulled Aizen's last straw was the fact that Tousen and Ichimaru had died in the failed attempt to destroy Seireitei. They had been in charge of challenging the Head Captain Yamamoto with their newly received powers. And even though they came pretty close, some backup troops had overwhelmed both of them.

Now with half his army gone, his two lieutenants dead, and a major blow having been dealt to his pride, Aizen had been pushed to his limit.

And the remaining survivors were paying the price.

He felt like his legs were made of lead. He didn't even know how much he'd been running. All he knew was that the longer he ran, the more he felt tired, and that the further he ran, he felt no difference in the distance between him and Aizen's immense reiatsu.

In the distance, he could hear some Adjuchas running around, trying to evacuate before the building collapsed on top of them all. Fools. Everyone in the palace knew they'd die today. All this was just wasted effort.

He just had to exit the building, then he could call a Garganta and escape to wherever the portal would take him. Anywhere but here. Anywhere where he could stall while waiting for Aizen to track him down and kill him.

He wouldn't let him escape, the Sexta knew it. It'd only be an insult to his already-destroyed pride, if he killed all his Espada and let one live.

Aizen wouldn't stop until he was done purging his palace of unwanted insects... Then he'd proceed to creating better, stronger Espada with the newly awakened Hogyouku. And then he'd go retry to destroy Soul Society.

The Sexta had reached the last crossroads of Las Noches during this entire recall of the events that had just come by. He recognized this last obstacle as the crossroads that led outside on one side, and to the infirmary and research block on the other.

The last Espada stopped in his tracks for a moment, surveying the surroundings with a sad stare. Everything was crumbling apart, and he didn't like it one bit. He desperately hoped this was a nightmare and he'd wake up soon and rush to Aizen's throne room, only to see that no blood was on the floor. He'd walk back to his room in a daze while Halibel threw him a weird look and Ulquiorra ignored him as he passed by.

Yes, this was all it was... A huge nightmare.

But somehow, he knew he couldn't keep on believing in lies. He'd done enough of that for one lifetime.

A sudden thought jolted him back to life just as a large piece of rubble fell behind him, knocking him down to his feet. The many injuries on his bruised body were taking their toll, and the Sexta Espada knew he wouldn't last long if he didn't get those treated soon. He quickly got up to his feet, swaying his gaze between the exit and the medical sector.

Ulquiorra hadn't been in the throne room with them. He had been rushed to the infirmary upon their arrival because his fight with the three captains from Squad 6, 11 and 13 had turned out bad for him.

Ulquiorra was still alive.

Grimmjow's thoughts suddenly cleared as two choices were put right in front of him.

The exit was right there. He could run out and escape with his worthless life and wander until death or he could head to the medical sector and pick up Ulquiorra before leaving.

If he chose the first option, he'd escape for sure, and live in fear and hiding, alone and lost, until either starvation or Aizen killed him.

But if he chose the second, there was no guarantee he'd live past the next ten minutes. But if he did manage to run off with Ulquiorra, he wouldn't be alone. Sure, he'd be stuck with the oh-so high and mighty Cuatra Espada, but he couldn't call himself the last Espada, at least. He would be able to endure a little longer as there'd be no loneliness in his life. And maybe, just maybe, they could figure out something together and survive.

He was snapped out of his daze as a large rock fell on his head, almost knocking him out. There was no time to think and judge.

He sped towards the infirmary.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

He slammed the door to the infirmary open, almost knocking it off its hinges. Panting, he looked around until he saw a limping figure in the corner. That couldn't be anyone else than...

"Ulquiorra!" the Sexta called as he ran towards the raven-haired figure, who immediately looked up towards him. Teal met emerald for just a second before Ulquiorra stumbled, Grimmjow barely making it in time to support him.

"What's going on?" The Cuatra asked, panting for breath, having not recovered completely yet.

"Aizen's gone berserk over the fact that we failed." The Sexta's voice dropped sadly. "We... We're the only ones alive..."

For just a moment, shock flashed over the Cuatra's face, but then he composed himself again and tried standing without Grimmjow's support, finding it halfway impossible. His head was spinning and his legs felt like they'd crumple beneath him any moment.

"We have to get out of here... Now..." the raven-haired Arrancar choked out.

"Thanks for announcing it, Captain Obvious." The blue-haired Arrancar replied with his trademark smirk, for a moment, losing himself in the bliss that was smiling.

He'd never known how much he liked smiling until he was just about to lose the ability to do so.

And for a short moment, he wondered if Ulquiorra had ever smiled before.

"Hey, snap out of it and move." The Cuatra whispered tiredly, snapping Grimmjow back to reality.

"Okay, okay, sorry for deciding to risk my own hide to help you out." The Sexta rolled his eyes and started moving, supporting the Cuatra so that they could walk faster.

They were just about halfway back to the crossroads when a relatively large piece of rubble detached itself from the ceiling, on a crash course towards them.

"Watch out!" Ulquiorra warned, and Grimmjow's eyes widened.

Just as the rock collided, Grimmjow jumped back, losing his already-fragile footing and sending the two survivors tumbling to the floor.

"Great!" The teal-eyed Espada groaned as he pushed himself up. "Now we can't get through! Damn it!" he cursed.

"Just punch a hole through the wall." Ulquiorra suggested calmly, hiding his panic as he pushed himself up using the wall.

"Yeah, like that's the easiest thing to do in the world..." he huffed, putting his hand to his zanpakuto.

There would be a high chance that his transformation would sap out all his remaining strength... But given the predicament they were in... He was ready to try anything to make it out alive.

"Here goes everything." he muttered, pulling out his zanpakuto. "Hey, I know you're tired from the ambush on Soul Society, but do this one last time for me." He whispered to his sword before gritting his teeth. "Grind, Pantera!"

The transformation was immediate. White armour-like pieces attached themselves to his body, and his hair got exponentially longer. His ears also grew and became more feline-like as a tail grew from the back. His teeth sharpened into fangs and his hands became black, almost like paws, claws protruding from the tips.

Ulquiorra simply watched as the Espada released his zanpakuto, then roared. Crouching low, Grimmjow growled and then barrelled towards the wall, hitting if hard with his armoured shoulder. It only made a dent.

Determined to live, Grimmjow tried again. Again and again and again until he was sure his shoulder would dislocate.

"One last time..." he whispered, painfully realizing he couldn't hold his transformation much longer. Crouching once more, he directed all his miraculously-remaining reiatsu towards his shoulder, roared loudly and shot towards the wall.

It finally gave in with a crumble, letting the cat-like Espada fall through, to the outside world. Thankfully, they weren't very high up, so Grimmjow impacted the soft sand with a mere grunt. His released zanpakuto quickly returned to its sheath, his hair shortening, his armour disappearing and his mask returning to its usual place by his jaw.

He stood there, lying on the sand, not wanting to move at all. His body was exhausted, bleeding and bruised, and right now, all he longed for was sleep.

"Oi, trash, get up."

Grimmjow's brows furrowed as he pushed himself up painfully, glaring at the Cuatra, who was barely standing up next to him.

"You couldn't let the wet cat lie in peace, could you?" he sighed, getting to his feet unsteadily.

"Well now that we're out, we can finally make a Garganta and get out of here, you know." Ulquiorra remarked. "Unless you wanna stay after all, of course."

"Well I'm out of strength, you got anything?" the Sexta sighed, rubbing the back of his neck to ease the pain from his fall.

"I can try, but it'll take a while."

Grimmjow was about to say something when an enormous reiatsu suddenly appeared, freezing both of them in place.

"Where are you going, my two lovely Espada?" a voice suddenly rang out in the open.

"Ulquiorra, go!" Grimmjow hastily gave a push to the Cuatra as the latter nodded frantically and put his hand in the air, trying to create a portal for them to escape to safety.

As for himself, Grimmjow dropped into a defensive position, trying to look as menacing as possible with that battered up figure of his.

He suddenly spotted him, coming out calmly from the front entrance to Las Noches.

"Aizen..." he growled hatefully, trying to keep standing up against that crushing reiatsu.

"It's funny because you actually thought you could escape from me, the almighty Aizen-sama, ruler and conqueror of all worlds." The brown-haired man snickered, that smirk giving him a demonic look once coupled with the blood smothering his clothes.

"_Blood from the other Espada..." _Grimmjow thought with a gulp.

"You almost done?" he asked, trying to keep the quivers out of his voice.

"Almost... Solidifying the path that'll take us to safety..." Ulquiorra grunted, almost out of energy as well.

"Safety?" Grimmjow's eyes widened in horror as Aizen suddenly flash stepped right behind him, leaning over his shoulder and licking a stream of fresh blood pouring from a wound on his cheek. "What safety?" The Sexta immediately stiffened, his frantic mind racing over the situation and its possible outcomes, one more gruesome than the other.

Grimmjow never thought he'd feel so terrified in his entire life.

"G-Get away from me!" he suddenly screamed, drawing his zanpakuto in a desperate effort to wound Aizen, knowing it was futile the moment the thought crossed his panicking mind.

Thankfully, it was enough to make the lord of Las Noches step back to avoid getting hurt, and that's when Ulquiorra's portal finally opened.

"Grimmjow!" the Cuatra called, a slight panic creeping into his tone as he realized how close Aizen was to them. How futile their efforts were. How amusing they must look in Aizen's eyes.

It was all just a game... and they were the pawns.

The cat-like Espada quickly reacted, retreating into Ulquiorra's Garganta with a scared look clearly showing in his eyes as Aizen started pacing towards them, zanpakuto unsheathed in his hand, dried blood from his previous kills staining the steel.

"You know you can't run." He smiled lightly as if this was amusing.

"Close it!" Grimmjow all but screamed.

"I'm trying, shut up!" Ulquiorra growled as he put his hands out, trying to close the portal.

"You think you can escape." The ex-shinigami scoffed, getting closer.

"Got it." The black-haired Arrancar sighed out in relief as the portal slowly started closing, Hueco Mundo and Aizen starting to face before their eyes.

"Let's see how far the mice can run before the cat catches up, shall we?" Aizen grinned evilly as he sheathed his sword and watched the two remaining Espada retreat. "I'm always watching."

The last thing Aizen saw were the terrified faces of his former subordinates. The last thing the ex-Espada saw was Aizen's amused expression.

It was only when the Garganta closed that Grimmjow dared to breathe again.

"Come on, we're not safe yet." Ulquiorra reminded him, pointing towards the light blue path made for them.

"Where does the portal lead to?" the teal-eyed Espada asked.

"I don't know. I created a link to a random place I've been to before, but I've been to a lot of places before, so I can't say for sure." The bat-Espada whispered, trying to walk straight.

"Let's hope you won't land us somewhere where we're not extremely welcome." Grimmjow muttered as he walked up and put Ulquiorra's arm around his neck, helping him walk.

Even if the slightly older Espada wouldn't admit it, they both needed to support each other right now, so that meant trying to find a way to survive.

Just as the light at the end of the path shone, Grimmjow closed his eyes and hoped they hadn't landed in Soul Society.

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****Author's Notes:**

**Ah, right, I forgot to mention. It's not that my chars don't have control over their emotions and thoughts, it's just that my way of writing includes sarcasm throughout the entire story. Dark humour is very natural to me, so sarcastic remarks and thoughts are common (: So basically, if you see someone laughing over the fact that they're dying, tell yourself it's extremely normal xD**

**Also, to all the Bleach fanatics out there, could I get a heads up on grammar? If I put Arrancar and Espada in plural, does it make Arrancars and Espadas or doesn't change at all? It'd be appreciated if I got some remarks about that O_O"**

**GRIMMULQUIIII. Sorry fangirls, this is the closest to yaoi you can get (unless two unconscious half naked men sleeping in the same ROOM counts as yaoi -.-") cause I don't do yaoi. I don't mind it, but don't write it either. So nope, no yaoi, sorry for the disappointment xD**

**I think Ulqui and Grimm are secretely best friends. I mean, COME ON, how could they NOT be? :3**

**Also, I detest Aizen. I also detest Orihime to the point of wanting to tear her organs out of her body, make soup out of them and feed the organ-soup to her (cause everyone likes a hearty Orihime-organ soup after coming home from work :D). Soooo... this should give you an idea on who's in the story and who's not. Also, UlquiHime? Yeaaaaaaaah NO.**

**Kay, I'm done ranting (: (For full anti-Orihime rant, visit my deviantart, it's my homepage on my profile xDDD)**

**I must mention one last thing: That I adore reviews and practically worship anyone who reviews (: Your name will be featured in the next chapter if you review, promise (:**

**Oh, and the next chapter is ALLLL ready for you. Imma wait. If I get over 5 reviews in the next 2 hours, I'll post it. If not, you'll havta wait till tomorrow night O_O"**

**SO YEAH, THANKS FOR READING, LOVE YA, PLEASE REVIEWW~**


	2. 1: Welcome to the World

**Author's Notes:**

**Happy dance tiiimeee (: This chapter is a bit longer, by a couple thousand words ;D So enjoyy~**

**I really want to thank the people who reviewed on the last chapter, those people being .lolcatsrule. (nice to see you in this fic as well xD), xbloody-mangax and TimelessTears (: Thanks guys for the support ;D I really appreciate it! ^^**

**Also, for the "s" issue on the plural of Arrancar and Espada, it's all fixed now xD Using an S with Arrancar, but not with Espada (:**

**I also got Grimm to do all the dirty work in this chappie, so don't hate me for it. Ulqui will get his glorious moment of crowning awesomness later on (:**

**Until then, read on, and beware for occasional swearing! O:**

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The Garganta opened over a small asphalt alley, letting the two Arrancar drop and roll painfully on the ground.

Coughing dust out, Grimmjow slowly pushed himself up to his knees, noting that Ulquiorra wouldn't stop coughing, and that was usually a bad sign.

"So where are we?" he asked, wincing, watching impassively as Ulquiorra tried to get up on his feeble legs, trembling out of pure exhaustion and weakness.

"I believe we're in the real world..." Ulquiorra whispered out, rubbing one of the brick walls surrounding them and not feeling any spirit particles agglomerated in the construction.

"WHAT!" was the Sexta's initial reaction, a sudden rush of anger and adrenaline rushing through him. Real World? In such a vulnerable position?

"And..." Ulquiorra bit his lip as if hesitating, swaying tiredly on his feet. "I believe we landed in Karakura Town..."

"WHAT! I asked you not to land us somewhere where we're totally hated, and you land us in that Ichigo bastard's hometown!" Grimmjow was now ready to rip the Cuatra apart for having landed them in their greatest enemy's hometown. And he was just about to do so when suddenly, Ulquiorra swayed, and fell.

"Sorry..."

And like that, he was snuffed out like a candle. Grimmjow watched as his wounded comrade hit the floor with a thud.

Not even paying attention to the fact that the Cuatra had actually apologized, Grimmjow crawled to his side, and wincing in pain, he shook the pale ex-Espada.

"Ulquiorra..." with every shake, he got more and more frantic. "Ulquiorra, stop goofing around. We have to find cover before going to sleep... Ulquiorra!"

He quickly put his hand to the slightly younger Arrancar's forehead, feeling the heat emanating from it. He bit his lip, realizing that one of the raven-haired wounds must have infected as it hadn't had time to be treated right.

If he thought about it, the slash in his shoulder was beginning to clot, but had a long way to go. It would get infected too if he didn't do anything soon, and having the both of them feverish wouldn't be the best of options.

Thinking fast, he ripped a piece of cloth the bottom of his pants, the cleanest he could find, and wrapped his wound in a messy, yet satisfying way. He then did the same for his other pant leg and worked on Ulquiorra's wounds, bleeding from the strain put on them.

By the time he was done wrapping both his and Ulquiorra's smaller injuries, he was completely and utterly drained. He wondered if he should make an effort to go look for food since as Espada, they needed to eat, but then again, at this hour of the night, dangerous people prowled the streets of Karakura Town, and he rather not get in touch with them in his weakened state.

Besides, with Aizen no longer protecting them, they were now visible to human eyes, and he was very aware that clothes like theirs and a hole in your body aren't very normal. Somehow, they had to hide that from the world.

Feeling his mind reel from hunger and fatigue, he shut his eyes and decided to leave everything for tomorrow. At least then, he would have recovered a bit of his strength, enough to figure out how to survive in this entirely new environment.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

The next morning, the first thing the blue-haired Arrancar noticed as he opened his eyes was that one, he was cold, and that two, he was hungry as hell.

Grunting and clutching his growling stomach, he looked towards Ulquiorra, who was still lying down against the wall where Grimmjow had left him last night. He was still panting and didn't look better. A slight flush was colouring his cheeks, and Grimmjow was now sure he had gotten sick from an infection.

Deciding to take the matter into his own hands, he first thought about the basics, as in bringing them something to eat. Slowly, he got up, and, making sure Ulquiorra wasn't visible from where he was lying down, he weakly walked out, pulling his clothes close to hide the hole on his stomach as he ended up on the streets of Karakura, the morning light just poking out.

He quickly located an establishment the humans called a 'restaurant' and headed for the back door. Having no money at all, there was no way he could just waltz into the front door and buy something. Instead, he opted for the sneakier way and simply waited behind the dumpster until a worker came out to throw out the remains from the breakfast preparations. That's when he sprang out and elbowed the worker in the stomach and followed with a crosschop to the neck. The poor worker fell down before he knew what hit him.

Grimmjow looked down with little remorse as he stepped over the teen and snuck into the fast food restaurant.

The first thing he spotted was a stack of buns in a plastic wrap, probably the stack they needed to make the hamburgers for the day. The teal-eyed Arrancar felt his mouth water at the sight, but proceeded further, knowing they wouldn't survive with just bread. A little further, he stopped at a vault labelled "cold room". Wondering what that meant, he slowly cracked the door open, and his eyes widened at all the food supplies stacked inside the dreadfully freezing room.

Not even thinking twice, Grimmjow adventured inside and spotted a stack of black plastic bowls, sealed with transparent plastic, with tossed lettuce, vegetables, and chicken inside.

He was about to explore longer, but he heard approaching footsteps and voices. He threw his hand to the packed salads and grabbed a few before rushing out and closing the vault door behind him. The door to the outside world was already open, so all he had to do was dash out and he was back out in the back alley.

Not even bothering to stand around, he sprinted out and towards where he had left Ulquiorra.

He was relieved to see that Ulquiorra had not moved an inch, but was finally awake a bit.

"Grimmjow..." he rasped. "Idiot, where did you go?"

"Went to steal food to save your sorry butt." The Sexta grunted in reply, throwing the boxed salad meant for him today towards him. In a slow, yet precise move, the Cuatra caught it and immediately started inspecting it through half-closed eyelids, chest heaving slightly at the effort it took for him to breathe.

"What is this?" he asked curiously.

"Food. Don't complain and eat it if you wanna live." Grimmjow grunted as he sat down and started picking at his lunch, the first one he had had in the last few days. The tasteless food slid down his throat and landed in his empty stomach, making it gurgle more and more in demand of nutrition.

The two tore through their food quickly, and then laid back down.

"What time is it?" the raven-haired Arrancar asked suddenly, looking up at the grey sky with a feverish look in his eyes.

"Must be sometime in the afternoon. Now shut up and get some sleep. You need to recover from that fever you have." Grimmjow advised him.

"I think we should move to somewhere with a roof first. Looks like it's gonna rain soon." Ulquiorra shivered.

"Yes Ma'am." The Sexta sighed out hopelessly and got up, dusting his already ruined outfit out. "Maybe we could go to that small public park a little further away from there. If we hide in the trees, we should be able to get shelter from the rain and recover in peace." He suggested.

"Alright..." Ulquiorra tried getting up, but seeing as he couldn't, Grimmjow leaned down and pulled him up, putting his arm around him to support him. "Let's go." He sighed out, feeling ashamed at his own weakness.

Without another word, the two set off.

The two of them made it to the park a couple of hours later. By then, the clouds had darkened and it was sure to rain soon.

"How perfect..." the blue-haired Arrancar sighed out desperately as a drop of water plopped down on the tip of his nose, causing him to accelerate his pace a bit.

"Hurry." Was all that Ulquiorra said in his half daze-like state. He had been periodically losing consciousness, and Grimmjow wasn't far off behind as he could feel his legs shaking beneath him. The meagre meal they had eaten hadn't proved to be enough to complement all the energy they had lost in all this activity, and they both knew it, and were ashamed of the fact that the previously glorious Espada were now reduced to wanderers. Just as the rain started dropping, the two of them fell down against a tree trunk, panting.

"It's official." Grimmjow grumbled unhappily as Ulquiorra slipped into another half-conscious daze. "I hate the real world."

"Tell me about it..." was all the pale-skinned Arrancar added before losing total consciousness.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

The days seemed long and painful for the two survivors of the Espada as they both struggled to stay alive. Fall was now advancing, and the wind was usually colder. It rained a lot, and the generally depressing atmosphere only made the two companions feel even worse.

While Ulquiorra was getting worse physically, Grimmjow was suffering from lack of sleep and nutrition and was starting to become paranoid. Every step he took, he move he made, he felt like someone was watching. And somehow, he knew that someone was Aizen. That he was always watching them, laughing at their failed efforts to keep living. As if brushing them all off, telling them that it'd all go to waste once he killed them both.

While Ulquiorra only slept his days away, Grimmjow was burdened with both their lives as he strived to find food and assure their wounds were healing. Their reiatsu had been abused in their escape, so not much hope of regaining it so soon was present in their minds.

The blue-haired ex-Espada returned to their usual spot in the evening, looking around frantically. Deciding not to wake Ulquiorra up, he simply sat down next to the Arrancar and growled. It had rained while he was out, and now they were both wet, and Grimmjow had never liked getting wet. And he was somewhat envious of Ulquiorra for being able to sleep his days away.

One look at the latter's face said the contrary, though. It was obvious that the small Arrancar was suffering with every breath he took, shaking in the cold and sweating nervously.

"Then again..." the Arrancar thought. "I think I'm happy being conscious."

It was already very late in the evening, the moon having just poked its head out from behind the rain clouds. Feeling tired, as usual, Grimmjow decided to get some sleep before it started raining again, so he laid down and set his head against a tree trunk, next to Ulquiorra.

Suddenly, footsteps reached Grimmjow's ears. He was just about to doze off when voices were heard as well. His heart thumping so hard, it could break out of his chest, the Arrancar made sure Ulquiorra was still in his feverish sleep before crouching and listening.

Obviously, the people coming their way were teenagers, by the sound of their voices. This fact got Grimmjow to relax slightly, but something about these teens kept him on guard. As the voices got closer and closer, Grimmjow felt himself stiffen. Now they seemed to sound somewhat... familiar to him.

"I can't believe sensei made us stay after school on a Friday." A male voice whined.

"And this late, too." Another added, more calmly.

"Oh stop whining, you two. At least Ichigo was nice enough to stay behind and help us clean up. Ne, Ichigo?" a girl asked joyously.

"Ichigo..." the feline-like Espada's thoughts suddenly reeled in panic. "Oh gods no, please don't let it be the Ichigo I know and who just happens to want to tear us apart." He thought wryly before poking his head out a bit to stare at the group of walking teens from behind a tree. One girl, and three boys. And the tallest of those boys.. Oh gods no... Orange hair, brown eyes... It was him... Ichigo...

"Ichigo." The girl called as if to confirm Grimmjow's fears.

"Oh, right, yeah." The teen snapped out of his daze and smiled at the black-haired girl.

It was the sound of his deep, developed voice that made something snap inside of Grimmjow. Light reiatsu suddenly whirled around him, instantly sending him into a panicked frenzy at the sudden flare in reiatsu. Gasping, he quickly hid his face behind the tree he was leaning on and tried to contain the reiatsu, but it was already too late. The group stopped walking and there was a seemingly infinite awkward silence hanging in the air. Ichigo suddenly sighed.

"I just remembered I forgot something at school. I have to go get it." He firmly announced, turning around. "Tatsuki, Asano, Mizuro, go home. I'll see you Monday."

The other teens looked at each other doubtfully, then the girl, Tatsuki, shrugged.

"Okay then, catch you later, Kurosaki."

And the group parted, heading off. Ichigo waited for them to leave his vision field before briskly turning around and running into some nearby trees, pulling out his badge in the process. He quickly released his Shinigami form and, following the reiatsu he had felt for a brief moment before, he ran towards where Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were hiding.

Deciding to at least put up a decent image, the blue-haired Espada took a deep breath and stood up, standing protectively over the suffering Arrancar lying behind him. One hand reached to touch Pantera's hilt just as Ichigo tore through the trees. The sound of steel cutting through the air was heard as the substitute Shinigami pointed Zangetsu at Grimmjow before he even landed.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjacques..." he seethed ferociously. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Could say the same for you." The ex-Espada forced himself to smirk, his lungs hurting from the reiatsu he accidentally released beforehand.

"I won't even ask what you're doing here. Obviously, Aizen has sent you to run yet another useless errand." He clutched Zangetsu tighter.

Feeling the tension rise between them, Grimmjow decided it was time to leave. All he needed to do was release his zanpakuto and keep that form long enough to grab Ulquiorra and dash off. It had been decided the moment he lost control of his reiatsu.

"Grind!" he screamed, pulling out his zanpatuko. "Pan-"

His command was suddenly cut short as a searing pain tore through his lungs and shoulder, making him drop Pantera and reluctantly double over on his knees, coughing blood and clutching his wounded shoulder to ease the pain.

Ichigo simply watched in confused shock as the Arrancar threw up more and more blood, panting for breath as he barely sustained himself on all four. The reality and seriousness of the situation only hit Ichigo when Grimmjow stopped coughing, his breaths coming out in short gasps, racking his fragile, wounded body with violent tremors.

"Grimmjow?" he finally asked, lowering his zanpakuto. "Is something wrong?"

Silence.

The alarm in Ichigo's head went off when the Ex-Espada didn't reply. His questioning gaze was further accentuated when he noticed Grimmjow's ripped, dirty, bloody clothing, the badly wrapped bandages around his many wounds, the numerous bruises dotting his usually flawless face. The tall Arrancar, usually healthy and even worryingly strong, was now pale, fragile and thinner than normal, dark rings under his unfocused eyes, and so weak he couldn't even stand.

Seeing as Grimmjow wouldn't even answer, Ichigo took a step forward towards him, the moonlight finally shining in the right angle for him to spot Ulquiorra's unconscious form.

The teen's eyes widened as he watched the normally proud Arrancar's trembling, feverish form with morbid fascination. The Cuatra was covered in blood and bandages, dirty and wet, shivering like a child, a light blush covering his pale cheeks as he furrowed his brows in cold sweat.

"Okay, just what the hell is going on here?" the orange-haired teen got exasperated, pointing Zangetsu down at Grimmjow, who was trying to calm down.

"None of your business, Shinigami." The latter rasped venomously, trying to get up, but failing miserably at it.

"I'm listening." Ichigo suddenly sheathed his zanpakuto and leaned against a tree, crossing his arms and looking down at the ex-Espadas.

"I said it's none of your concern, Kurosaki!" Grimmjow wiped some blood on his chin with a trembling hand, trying to look defiant. "Leave us alone."

Surprised by the usually-aggressive Espada's words, Ichigo growled threateningly.

"Listen, I'm a Shinigami, and it's my job to eliminate Arrancar like you. So unless you have a good explanation on why I should spare you two, I will kill you." He raised a brow expectantly.

Slight panic took control of Grimmjow as he heard that. No way he'd come this far, had suffered so much, to die at the hands of a Shinigami. Gulping down nervously, he aimed low and took his chances.

"We're wounded, unarmed and unable to fight back. Would you feel satisfied if you killed an enemy who can't even protect himself?" As much as he hated to admit it, every word he had spoken was true, and he knew very well he was treading on a thin line. He was unable to wield his zanpakuto, let alone fight, so right now, their lives were dancing right in the palm of Ichigo's hand.

"I'll spare you on one condition." Ichigo suddenly dropped down next to them. "Tell me what happened and who did this to you." He simply demanded.

"What?" Grimmjow almost choked on his own blood. "Listen Kurosaki, this is our business. Obviously, we can't exactly harm anyone in the state that we're in, so why don't you just-"

"Aizen."

There was a shocked silence, and suddenly, all eyes were on Ulquiorra, who groaned in agony, his pale eyelids fluttering open halfway. The light pink tinge on his otherwise deathly pale face reflected off the moonlight as he tried sitting up.

"Aizen did it... He got really angry over our major failure and once we were back in Hueco Mundo... he... he..." Ulquiorra looked down, unable to continue.

"He killed them all. He killed all of the Espada." Grimmjow finished for him, gulping down the painfully fresh memories tainted with blood and horror. "We're the only ones left..." he finished, choked tears reflecting in his words.

"W-What happened?" the orange-haired teen asked, genuinely surprised.

Seeing as Grimmjow was too concentrated thinking back on the horrific bloodshed, Ulquiorra took it upon himself to tell the story and did his best to detail out how their invasion on Soul Society failed, resulting in the loss of most of their force. Halfway there, he started coughing, and so, Grimmjow shut him up by continuing with what happened afterwards, when Aizen went berserk.

"Here's how to put it simply." The teal-eyed Espada looked down sadly. "We failed, and now Hueco Mundo is falling apart. All the other Espada are dead. And Aizen is still after us." Grimmjow explained, Ulquiorra stiffening.

Silence.

And then, Ichigo sighed.

"I'll help you."

Another silence.

Grimmjow suddenly gathered all his strength and stood up, towering menacingly over the younger teen.

"No way in hell. We told you our story, now leave us alone." He demanded.

Always as calm, Ichigo got up, coming face-to-face with the Arrancar.

"You won't survive another day in the real world if you don't let me help you." He shrugged as if it was nothing at all. "Would be a shame to die after having struggled for so long."

Grimmjow's gaze promptly fell, and he bit his lip. Of course he wouldn't accept. It would deal a major blow to his pride if he accepted his former enemy's help... _Former_ enemy... Then again, whatever pride he had left had been destroyed when he ran away from Aizen...

"Why would you want to help us live when time and time again, we have caused massive havoc in your life? Why would you want to give us any kind of assistance if your goal in life is to kill us all?" the Sexta asked quietly, as if ashamed he was even inquiring.

The leaves rustled as a cold breeze flew by, making the two wet Arrancar shiver harder.

"Because." Ichigo sighed, slightly blushing from embarrassment at what he was about to say. "Aizen is now our common enemy. And my enemy's enemy... is my friend."

Another breeze froze the two injured teens further as drops of rain slowly started falling from the sky again. Not even minding it, the ex-Espada turned around, now more than ever wanting to cry.

"Friend, huh?" he whispered subconsciously as the rain dampened his already wet hair and soaked him to the bones. As if morbidly encouraging him to make the right decision, Ulquiorra suddenly moaned in pain and shivered, coughing horribly.

He had to do something. He had chosen to take the older Arrancar with him, and now, he was his responsibility. Grimmjow had never thought that being in charge of someone's life could be so pressuring. His fists tightened as he gulped down nervously.

"Fine." Was all he could manage without choking on his own words.

"Right." Ichigo smiled lightly and got up, heading towards his body. "I don't think Ulquiorra can walk, so can you carry him until we get to my place?"

"Of course." Grimmjow hastily replied, blushing as he bent down and sheathed Pantera, then put his arms around the feverish Arrancar and lifted him up, cradling him against his chest. His exhausted muscles screamed in protest at the new, unneeded weight, but the proud Espada refused to let any more weakness show.

"Right." Ichigo called as he reappeared in his human body from behind the blue-haired Arrancar. "Just follow me." He led the way, taking them out of the trees and onto the path, apparently not minding the rain. "Once we get you two home, we can see about those injuries of yours, and then we can eat, because I don't know about you, but I'm starving. After that, I can give you some spare clothes and you can take a long, and apparently much needed nap. How's that sound?" he turned back and smiled sweetly at Grimmjow.

The latter blushed and looked down as he walked, embarrassed by how dependant he was of Ichigo right now. Then again... It felt somewhat nice to finally be able to lean on someone's shoulder and know they won't let you fall. Unbeknownst to Ichigo, Grimmjow smiled gratefully behind him.

After all, he was glad it was raining. For the first time in many many many years... the Sexta Espada cried.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

The trio of exhausted and soaked teens stumbled inside the dark clinic around ten PM. Ichigo promptly turned on the lights and led the two towards two adjacent beds.

"Put him down there." He ordered, pointing at one bed.

Grimmjow nodded and gently placed Ulquiorra on the pure white hospital sheets, making sure the older ex-Espada was still breathing.

"I'll go wake up my dad to help. I want you to carefully remove Ulquiorra's cloak so we can treat his wounds." The teen ordered, opening a sliding door and walking into his house. The teal-eyed Espada nodded and slowly got to work, ignoring his brain's protests.

While it was true that all he wanted right now was sleep, Ulquiorra needed urgent treatment and he wouldn't let him die now. Not when they were so close to safety.

_"Safety? What safety?"_

Grimmjow's breath hitched and his eyes snapped open. He frantically surveyed the surroundings, aware of how panicked his breathing was. He calmed down once he was in the Kurosaki clinic and sighed.

"Aizen, you bastard..." he whispered tiredly. "I'll kill you for all you've done." He added, almost dozing off on his feet.

He was suddenly jolted awake as the door slid open roughly, two people stepping in. Ichigo, and a taller, older, scarier-looking guy closed the door and walked towards them.

"Son, you told me we had some unusual patients this late at night, but you never told me they were Arrancars." His eyes fell on the number 6 carved in Grimmjow's back. "Much less two Espada."

"Ex-Espada." Ichigo clarified, motioning to Grimmjow. "Grimmjow here will be delighted, I'm sure, to tell you all the circumstances in which they received that title." He smirked.

"All in good time." Isshin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why don't you take care of Grimmjow's wounds while I treat his friend?"

"He's not my friend." Grimmjow immediately choked out in an effort to preserve his tough image. "Just... the only other Espada survivor..." he muttered.

"Now I'm intrigued." Ichigo's father raised a brow, heading for Ulquiorra. "Tell me what happened to you while we work." He suggested so gently, it almost shocked the Espada.

How could humans love so easily? Was this what it felt like to be forgiven? Up until now, all he had felt was the fact that he was being used and abused again and again. So this feeling of gratitude and happiness was entirely new to him. And he liked it.

The Hollow part of him told him to throw emotions away like Aizen had wanted, told him that they were useless and only made him suffer. On the other hand, one part of him, slowly emerging from the depths of his tortured soul, liked it, and encouraged him to go on. He had led a life forcefully devoid of feeling, and now, he wanted it back. He wanted his life back. He wanted his heart back...

"Hey." Ichigo snapped him out of his reverie as he shook him. "Sit down there so we can see those wounds." He pushed him on the second bed.

"Right, sorry." Grimmjow muttered, removing his tattered shirt. Ichigo quickly grabbed some antiseptic and carefully started peeling off the makeshift bandages around the slash in his shoulder. The Espada winced as his half-healed injury met with the air, but sucked it up as not to show any more weakness.

"Now Grimmjow." Isshin calmly started, putting a cold compress on Ulquiorra's forehead. "I'm listening."

Grimmjow stiffened, not from the pain, but the dread. It hurt him to even think about Aizen and Hueco Mundo, and now, his heart clenched as he got ready to relive the nightmare over again.

"We had been sent on an all-out destroy mission to Seireitei, but we were expected and ambushed. We lost more than 90% of our forces and had to retreat back to Hueco Mundo. Gin and Tousen died as well, and Aizen got really angry at us..." he winced as Ichigo started wrapping up his wound. "We went back home and he yelled at us... And then started slaughtering them all." A shadow passed in his glazed eyes.

He was lost in his nightmare again, and having to relive the terror he felt during those moments wasn't exactly awesome.

"He killed all the Espada... And like the coward I am, I ran away before he could get to me." He whispered self-consciously. "I had to escape, but remembered Ulquiorra, who had had been rushed to the infirmary after our return. I went back for him and we escaped by a hair's length. We then transported somewhere random and somehow ended up here, and have been wandering around for three, maybe four days now." He finished with a sigh.

"That bastard has put you through a lot of shit, huh?" Ichigo commented angrily, moving to some marks on the Espada's back. "Thankfully, you're safe now, in the real world."

"No... No we're not." Grimmjow suddenly froze, a wild look in his eyes. "We're never safe." He looked around frantically, trembling in fear. "He's here, he's watching, he's always following." He put his hands over his ears as if to block out Aizen's evil laughter. "And he won't stop until we're dead." He breathed out, terrified.

Ichigo and his father looked at each other worriedly, then Ichigo slapped Grimmjow's back gently, catching his attention.

"Baka." He scoffed. "Aizen's forces are all gone. He has nothing against us and Soul Society combined." He comforted the distraught Espada.

"I hope so..." the drowsy Arrancar whispered, his eyes fluttering shut. "We have to live, we can't die now... We've got to keep going on and survive. Not after we've been used for so long, not after we've been abused for so long..." he closed his eyes, slowly losing consciousness. "We have to heal, we have to learn to feel, learn to live..." Now that the stress had been taken off his shoulder, exhaustion and starvation were catching up with Grimmjow and the blue-haired Espada finally sank into a long, restful sleep, his breathing slowing and deepening as he lost balance and fell back against Ichigo.

The orange-haired teen smiled lightly and pushed Grimmjow down on the mattress, wiping some blood off his chin and forehead with a towel.

"That Aizen..." Isshin sighed as he watched the festering gash on Ulquiorra's chest. It wasn't very deep, but it had obviously been severely infected and left untreated for several days –up to 4 days if Grimmjow remembered correctly- which was probably why Ulquiorra had such a nasty fever. Also, it seemed like he had caught a cold and a light pneumonia from being out in the cold for so long. That could be easily fixed, although his broken ribs and dislocated arm would take time to heal.

"I can't believe he'd actually kill his own subordinates. Especially since all of them" his gaze went towards Grimmjow's relaxed face. "Or mostly all of them were deathly loyal to him." He snickered.

Ichigo's father nodded and turned Ulquiorra on the side to inspect some slashes on his back. His gaze narrowed on some faded scars beneath the violent red gashes.

"Did Grimmjow have the same marks on his back as this one?" he asked curiously.

"Ulquiorra?" Ichigo informed his dad of the Cuatra's name. "Yes, he did. They look like..."

"Whip marks, I know." The older male nodded impassively, turning Ulquiorra back around after having made sure the gashes were healing correctly. His eyes were drawn to the number 4 carved on the left of Ulquiorra's chest. "So. Cuatra and Sexta, huh?" he smirked, as if somehow finding this amusing. "We've got a demanding bunch on our hands."

"I know." Ichigo smiled ruefully, finishing up with Grimmjow and tucking him under a blanket. "But they have valuable information on Aizen, something we could use to our advantage. It's in our best interest to keep them alive for now." He gulped down nervously, getting away from Grimmjow.

"Really? Is that what you told them? Is that why they trust their greatest enemy so much?" his father threw him a sceptical look.

"N-No... I told them it's because now that Aizen is a common enemy, we are allies... friends..." he turned around and shivered, heading for the door. "What I said a minute ago was just me trying to rationalize my choices."

"I see." His father nodded, letting him exit without another word. He finished up with his patient by pulling the covers over Ulquiorra's half-naked form. "You're doing fine, son." He smiled as he looked back at his two patients, switched the lights off, and closed the door after him.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I'm delighted with this chapter ^^ I really like it... a lot... And I hope you did too (:**

**Kay, first of all, sorry for all the repetition, making sure everyone gets the gist of what's going on in Hueco Mundo, that's all.**

**I'll elaborate on Ulqui's and Grimm's past with Aizen in the next chapter. Nighmare sequences FTW (:**

**Then, about Ulquiorra, I know I made him a weak pussy, but hey, doesn't he look like the cutest uke EVAH~? (: Come ooon, you know you agree (: He'll recover soon and take the lead again, don't worry. I also made him the older one cause I dunno about you, but I thought he looked a little older than Grimmjow. Maybe Ulqui= young 18, Grimm= late 17? I dunno.**

**I'M GOING TO ITALY AND GREECE THIS SUMMER BABYY~ Can't wait :DD (Lol, I'm very much in advance xD)**

**Frida****y, we have a day off, Saturaday, I have a cosplay photoshoot and a reunion for Animeet 2011 (the cosplay event I'm creating :D) so I'll be busy... Monday is Thanksgiving, and Tuesday are the second halfs of my exams ): Today I had the exams for Ancien Greek Drama and Arts, French, Espanoool and History. Tuesday, Imma die as I have my Math, English and Science exams ):**

**I fail in math. Seriously. I can't even divide (-b*9+a*9) by (a*3-b*3) (stars mean _to the power of) _gooooosh, I'm sooo dead ): All this to tell you that I probably will be to busy studying... wait, scratch that, I'll be too busy PANICKING to get any writing done. So you'll have to wait until Wednesday to get yer chapter ): Unless I get my magic fingers working and type it on Sunday or Monday (:**

**So yep, hope you liked it. Also, try to spot a song reference I inserted in there (: If you know the song, you'll notice it instantly. Trust meh ;D**

**Alrighty then... Wish me luck for my exams, and SAYONARA~**

**P.S: Reviews make me happeh (: VERY. VERY. HAPPY. Like. REALLY. Happy.**


	3. 2: Like Living in a Nightmare

**Author's Notes:**

**Here's another chapterr (: This one's extremely dark, though. Whatever the story's rated for is probably in here. Yep, yep.**

**Before I forget, I want to thank TimelessTears, not just for the only review on chapter 2 (lol, I feel like I'm reliving the old days xD) but also for helping me with the new summary O: Gosh, TT, I really owe ya one, to say the least. I really love the new summary (: So let's all give a round of applause to TimelessTears! *standing ovation xD***

**This chappie's really symbolic. Pay extra attention to all the words if you want to understand. It's vague if you just read the words, but the back-backstory will become very clear in your mind if you read carefully.**

**So yep. Hope you guys won't try to kill yourselves after reading all the dark stuff in here. Have fun?**

**Whatever's in italic is the nightmare sequence, and whatever is not is the normal present sequence. Un-italicized words and sentences in the nightmare sequence are thoughts or point-outs. And Grimmjow's 15 in the nightmare sequence, making Ulquiorra 16. Just so I could cover more timeline than just "three weeks ago", for example.**

**Warning: Chapter contains blood, violence, mentions of implied rape, abuse, needles, extreme OOC-ness and squelchy kind of violence, the type that makes you shudder and cringe like when someone scratches their nails on a blackboard.**

* * *

_Dark. It was completely dark around him. The pressuring darkness seemed to close up and swallow him as he walked through the cold stone hallways of Las Noches. His wide eyes darted left and right, as if expecting something to jump out of the shadows and eat him. _

_The newest addition to the Espada hurried as he got closer to Aizen's chambers. He had just come back from a mission and had been informed that Aizen had already retreated to his quarters for the night. He would have liked to put his report off, but if he didn't hand it in immediately, Aizen would get mad._

_And according to the other Espada, Aizen was not a pretty sight when he was angry._

_Almost dragging his feet behind him, Grimmjow stopped in front of Aizen's room. For a moment, he thought that the lord of Las Noches had gone to sleep already as it was very late and there no sound inside. _

_He was about to call it quits when suddenly, the door opened, Aizen's head appearing through the crack. He was shirtless and only wearing a white hakama, obviously getting ready to go to bed._

_Grimmjow's eyes fell as the imposing figure raised a brow. He was new in the Espada and the rules of Las Noches, so he kind of panicked when Aizen reached out and grabbed his chin, tilting it upwards to make him look straight into his eyes. Teal met cold brown, and he shivered. Something about his new master wasn't quite right._

"_Well?" he suddenly questioned in a soft, yet insistent tone. "Will you stand there all night or will you report?"_

"_H-Hai A-Aizen-sama Sir!" The Sexta Espada stumbled over his own words as the grip on his chin got tighter._

_Feeling extremely uncomfortable, he shook his head a little and let Aizen's hand fall. He immediately lowered his eyes again, catching a hint of red he had previously missed on Aizen's hakama. _

_His eyes widened as he recognized blood. Fresh blood._

"_I'm waiting for your report, Sexta."_

"_O-Oh, w-well, all went well. We successfully infiltrated Rukongai's 67__th__ district and caused havoc long enough to allow Gin-sama to enter Seireitei unnoticed." Grimmjow gulped down in fear as he spotted the bored look in Aizen's eyes. "We had two casualties in our group, two Adjuchas... But we killed 3 shinigami in the fight that followed." He finished._

"_I see." Aizen smiled lightly, running a finger over Grimmjow's sweaty cheek. The latter shrank under his demanding touch and blushed. "Thank you for your report, Grimmjow. It's late now, so come on in and spend the night here instead of walking halfway across Las Noches to your own quarters." He suggested in a soft tone._

"_N-No thank you A-Aizen-sama S-Sir!" Grimmjow shook his head, eyes falling once more on the blood on his master's clothes. "I-I'm not that tired, s-so I figured the walk w-would help me g-get a little drowsy." He stammered, nervously rubbing the back of his neck and subconsciously stepping back a bit._

"_Alright." Aizen dropped his hand. "Good night, Sexta." He wished with a slight smile, closing the door in his face._

_The silence returned, and the cat-like Espada decided he hated it already. Trying to flee the darkness, he started walking towards his quarters when suddenly, a loud pain-filled scream rose from Aizen's room. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand and he subconsciously started walking faster until he was practically running. The hauntingly familiar voice of the screaming person was reverberating in his head, refusing to get out._

_He didn't know the other Espada so well yet, but he was sure he'd heard that voice at one of the meetings before. Yet he couldn't quite put his finger on who it belonged to._

_But then again, when he thought about it, he didn't even really _want _to know._

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

_His legs were shaking beneath him as he forced himself to walk towards Aizen's throne room. He knew why he'd been called. Two months in the Espada, and he'd already failed a mission. How insulting._

_It wasn't a secret to anyone why he was being summoned._

_Not even him._

_Gulping down, he put a shaky hand on the knob and pushed it. The door creaked towards the inside, the rusty metal squeaking on its hinges. _

"_Try not to die." Nnoitra passed behind him with a snicker, but Grimmjow totally ignored it. He had to stay strong. He had to._

_With a deep breath, he entered the throne room._

_His footsteps clattered on the tiled floor, the soft sound echoing around the room. It seemed like forever before Grimmjow made it before Aizen, and even there, time seemed to stop as his master stared at him intently. _

_Just the thought of the ex-shinigami's gaze scouring his body had Grimmjow shivering, so he couldn't help but fiddle a little. Finally, after finishing the analysis of the young 15-year old Arrancar in front of him, Aizen switched his position on his throne and sighed._

"_Grimmjow Jaegerjacques." His piercing glare seemed to drill holes in him. Unable to hold his gaze up, the young Espada lowered his eyes. "I suppose you know why you've been called here."_

"_Yes Sir." Grimmjow tried answering as firmly as possible._

"_And why is that, Grimmjow?" the Arrancar didn't know why his master was so insistent on saying his name, but it made him antsy. He didn't like it._

"_B-Because I failed you, Aizen-sama." He gulped down nervously._

"_Not only that, but you also lost two complete Fraccion, severely wounded one of my best Privaron and failed to bring back any worthwhile results. I'm disappointed in you, Grimmjow." Surprisingly, the teal-eyed Arrancar didn't feel guilty, but anxious._

"_S-Sorry, Aizen-sama." He whispered under his breath._

"_Ah, Grimmjow... I wish I could forgive you that easily... But you and I both know I can't."_

_Here it comes._

"_I'm sorry to say you have abused my trust and do not deserve a higher position, nor the power to lead missions yet." Aizen got up, looking down on him with an evil smile. "Now, suffer the consequences of your incompetence." _

_It only took a second. Aizen's horrifyingly immense reiatsu flared out, freezing the Sexta Espada for just a moment before sending him to his knees, panting for breath. Grimmjow's eyes widened in horror as he clawed at his chest. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, his chest feeling like it was getting crushed by a thousand tons of cement._

_He wheezed and struggled to breathe as Aizen drew his zanpakuto, raising it high over his head. No words we exchanged as the sword came down, meeting the flesh on Grimmjow's right side. The Espada immediately started screaming as the blood dropped onto the ground with a series of splats. _

_Far from fading, the screams continued until Aizen tipped his subordinate's chin up with his sword, watching with sadistic pleasure as he clutched his side and struggled to breathe, unshed tears glistening in his pained teal eyes. The brown haired man slowly slid his zanpakuto over the soft skin of Grimmjow's cheek, watching as a thin trail of blood trickled down and dripped on the floor._

_As soon as he removed the blade, Grimmjow's head dropped back down thanks to the immense reiatsu, his back arching in pain. Aizen snickered and put the tip of his blade to his lips, gently licking some blood off of it._

"_You are one of the most amusing Arrancars in the Espada, Grimmjow." He chuckled as if he'd told a joke._

_Grimmjow didn't reply, but did make an effort to put his head up, glaring at Aizen and trying to look a little defiant. That little rebellious glint in his teal eyes was what prodded at Aizen's line between pleasure and overdoing things. He smiled, and in a swift movement, swung his zanpakuto down again._

_The world seemed to stop as the metal met flesh again. Grimmjow's eyes widened, and bile rose up in his throat. The reaction to the pain was delayed as he only felt the mind blowing agony once he fell on his stomach. The back of his left ankle was on fire, and he didn't even need to look to realize he wouldn't be walking again for a while._

_Grimmjow screamed with everything he had as one part of his left Achilles' tendon snapped. It didn't bleed much as it was a tendon and not actual muscle, but the blue-haired Arrancar figured he would have preferred having a muscle cut than a tendon. Stars were dancing in front of his eyes, and he felt sick, like throwing up. He barely even noticed when Aizen dropped his reiatsu and sat back down on his throne, sheathing his sword._

"_Now Grimmjow, I hope you learned your lesson." The words were like slurs to him as his head spun. "Now you know what happens when you fail me and do your best to succeed, right, Grimmjow?"_

_Grimmjow cursed under his breath but knew that if he said what he really thought of the situation, he'd probably just die. So instead, he settled for nodding weakly._

"_I'm happy we're on equal terms now. You're dismissed." Aizen smiled._

_Fake smile._

_Grimmjow growled as he tried getting up, realising he was on his own. Fake smiles. He'd seen a lot of those in one lifetime. And he hated them, he hated seeing people smile for lies._

_He hated them._

_He hated Aizen._

_Panting, he got up on one shaky leg, doing his best to clutch his side and keep his balance at the same time. He slowly hopped away, wincing with every breath he took. Even with Szayel's help and high speed regeneration, it was almost assured that he would be hurting for at least a week or so._

_It felt like a huge weight had been taken off of him when he exited. Now in a shock-induced daze, Grimmjow fell to his knees, panting. A loud scream built up in his throat and he felt like his lungs would explode if he didn't release the pain._

_Giving in to the agony, he yelled one last time, long and hard, evacuating all the pain in his heart. Panting, he swung his head back down, bile rising up in his throat. Feeling his consciousness dim, he threw the organic liquid up, and, feeling tired and weak, he fell to his side, the world fading to black._

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

_Grimmjow was alone in the hallways again. Sighing, he shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered something unintelligible as he walked slowly._

_Suddenly, his eyes noticed something in the corner, and he turned his attention towards the thing –or person, as he noticed-._

_As he got closer, he made out black hair, a white helmet-like mask and white clothes._

"_Ulquiorra." He called experimentally. What surprised him was the Arrancar's reaction._

_The Cuatra whipped around and shrank, almost whimpering._

_Yes, the almighty Cuatra Espada almost _whimpered_._

_Which was the first sign in Grimmjow's eyes that something was wrong, oh so wrong._

"_Hey, what's up?" he asked casually as he approached him._

"_Don't hurt me..." was all the green-eyed Arrancar whispered._

_Grimmjow blinked for a moment and then raised a brow._

"_What?"_

"_D-Don't hurt me..." the Espada repeated, sniffling and clutching the big column holding up the ceiling like it was his life._

"_Why in hell would I want to hurt you?" the Sexta sighed, rubbing his forehead. Something was definitely not up with Ulquiorra. "Now who are you and what have you done with Ulquiorra?"_

_The latter's eyes darkened and saddened considerably, and for a moment, Grimmjow wondered if Aizen had hurt Ulquiorra as well... Just like he'd hurt him a couple of weeks ago. His left ankle still ached just thinking about it._

"_I was asking myself that..." the sad Arrancar whispered, looking away. "This can't be me... I am not Ulquiorra Cifer... I am not the Cuatra Espada..."_

"_Hey, calm down." The teal-eyed Espada sighed and looked down at the smaller Espada. Maybe he'd just been up all night and was really really tired? Or was sick and was acting extremely out of character?_

"_We can't go on like he wants us to, Grimmjow." The Cuatra suddenly whispered._

"_Aha, I knew it. Where did he hurt you?" Grimmjow nodded, trying to lift some of Ulquiorra's pain off his shoulder. He had only just entered the Espada two months ago, but Aizen had already stolen his innocence. He didn't want the other Espada to suffer too much either._

"_Here..." Grimmjow's eyes widened in confusion and surprise as Ulquiorra gripped the cloth over his heart and stared down._

"_Ulquiorra." The blue-haired Espada sighed. "We're Arrancars. That makes us part Hollow. And Hollows don't have hearts."_

"_That's exactly what he wants to make you believe." The urgency in Ulquiorra's whispers worried the Sexta Espada as the Cuatra had never before shown his fear and worry so openly. "But we can't live without them, Grimmjow."_

"_Without what?"_

"_Feelings." He clutched his clothes tighter. "He wants us to forget what feelings mean, throw them aside and discard them. But we can't do that. If we can't feel anymore, how will we know what's right and what's wrong? We'll lose our conscience, and we'll only become his mindless puppets." He shook his head._

"_True... To a certain point as it's coming from you, the cold Espada, as they all call you." The cat-like Espada shrugged._

"_We've broken parts of our Hollow masks, but that doesn't mean we're through... Now, we have to strive to keep up another mask, because if we break this one, it's all over... I already have a mask I constantly wear, but sometimes, it just gets so hard to keep it up, I just wanna drop it and scream..."_

_Grimmjow's gaze softened as he watched the older Arrancar shudder. Even if something was wrong with Ulquiorra... His words seemed to come deep from the heart. And in a sense, they rang true and pure in his own heart._

"_There's nothing wrong with letting go, you know." He commented, still somewhat surprised he was having a civilised conversation with the half-delirious Cuatra._

"_Not when he's watching... He's always watching..." the bat-Espada shivered._

"_Ah, touché..." Grimmjow muttered under his breath, shuddering as he realized the truth behind those words._

"_Just keep on believing and feeling... And you'll be alright." The Cuatra nodded gently, smiling sadly._

"_Seriously, what is WRONG with you, Ulquiorra? We're having a civilised conversation and you haven't even called me _trash_ once!" the Sexta sighed, putting one of his hands to the Cuatra's pale forehead, the other to his own._

_He winced as he felt the heat and pulled back. Surprised by the caring gesture, Ulquiorra looked up at him with big emerald eyes, and suddenly smiled._

"_There is no need to wear your mask when you're among friends, right? All you need to do is slide it back on when you go out to see the world." He commented before letting go of the pillar and walking off._

_Or... limping off._

"_Hey, need help getting to your room?" Grimmjow yelled after him, noticing the severe limp._

"_No one asked you, trash." Ulquiorra suddenly turned back, blinking neutrally at him before limping back off._

_Grimmjow stayed there, incredulous, for just one moment, before he realized that Ulquiorra had gone out to meet the world._

"_A mask, huh...?"_

_Taking a deep breath, the Sexta Espada cleared his eyes of emotion and started walking. _

_If a mask was what it took to keep his heart intact..._

_Then a mask he would wear._

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

_Gosh, his head hurt. He didn't think he had ever gotten a headache THIS bad before. Groaning in pain, he opened his eyes, trying to clear the blurs. Although he didn't even need the shapes to become clear to freak out. The colour scheme of his surroundings was enough._

"_Ah, you're awake."_

_Grimmjow stiffened. That voice. That despicable, hateful, arrogant voice..._

"_Aizen-sama..." he forced out with a huge effort._

"_Ah, Grimmjow, you're fully conscious of your surroundings then?" Aizen smiled, making the Espada's blood boil. _

_That despicable fake smile again. He hated it, wanted to just tear it right off his face. Given the chance, he wouldn't even hesitate._

"_Well, I guess I should tell you what you're doing here today."_

_Grimmjow made a move to get up, but found resistance. His eyes widening, he looked up and spotted metal glinting over his ankles and wrists._

"_What's going on?" he immediately asked, already starting to panic._

"_Ah, if you would let me finish, I could tell you." Aizen rolled his eyes. "You're here today because we're testing a new high-speed regeneration solution I had Szayel create. It'll serve us well if the Espada ever need high speed regeneration on the battlefield. And apparently, it will only work if the Arrancar had human-like functions, and so, I chose you... Since you are one of the most enduring Espada and were pretty much the only one open." He shrugged like it was nothing._

"_So basically, I'm a lab rat?" the teal-eyed Espada gaped incredulously. Is this what he had been reduced to? An experiment? A person whose only purpose was to test things?_

"_That's a very vulgar term, but if you want it that way, then yes." A sadistic glint shone in Aizen's brown eyes as he grabbed a box full of individual shots. "Now, let's begin, shall we?"_

_Grimmjow gulped down as he looked at the needle Aizen brandished. He'd never liked needles, and now he was expected to put up with a whole box of them?_

"_To use high speed regeneration, first, you must be hurt, of course..."_

_Of course there was a loophole. Grimmjow knew it. Today was DEFINETELY not his day. He braced himself as Aizen pulled out a small knife._

"_Here we go..."_

_Before he registered it, the knife slashed over his chest, making a shallow, but stinging wound over it. Grimmjow simply winced at this, especially when Aizen lowered the needle._

_His eyes widened as he was injected with the red liquid. He didn't know what was inside those needles, and preferably didn't even wanna know. All he knew was that it burned. A lot._

_Biting his lip, he gave a sharp tug on his wrists, the cold metal of the shackles biting into his skin. To his relief, though, the small wound started mending itself._

"_Stabs..."_

_And Aizen stabbed him in the shoulder, all the way across, making him choke on a gasp. And then the needle and the strange liquid again. The stab wound healed instantly, making it look like it had never been there._

_The cycle seemed to go on forever. Grimmjow only found the activity excessive when Aizen punctured his lung to see if it closed damaged organs._

_As if fate was against him that day, it didn't. So he was left choking on his own blood, struggling wildly as the liquid coursed fire through his veins, the metal cutting into his wrists and ankles and making more blood drop._

"_Deep slashes..."_

_Pain... Needle... Fire... Slight effect. More pain._

"_Bruises..."_

_Pain... Needle... Fire... Effect... More pain._

"_Broken ribs..."_

_Pain... Needle... Fire... No effect... More pain._

"_Let's see about severed body parts..." Aizen's eyes glinted maliciously as he steadied one of Grimmjow's shaky hands._

"_S-Stop!" the latter screamed, horrified with where this was going. If this went on, he'd be cut to little pieces to see if the liquid could put him back together!_

"_It's all for science, my dear Grimmjow." The lord of Las Noches fake smiled again, making the blue-haired Espada grit his teeth. Fake smiles... Fake smiles again and again and again... He despised them, he really did._

"No it's not. It's just for your own personal sadistic enjoyment."

"_A-Aizen-sama, I-I don't think the liquid will be able to re-grow a limb if it couldn't fix a broken rib." He coughed out, splattering blood all over his ruined clothes._

_Aizen stopped for a moment, then grabbed a fistful of Grimmjow's messy blue hair, pulling his head up and slamming it roughly back down on the metal table. The unfortunate Espada breathed sharply as his forehead got wet, a crack in his skull causing a huge flow of blood. _

_Predictably, he was stabbed with a needle right afterwards. His arms were now covered in bruises where the needles had been inserted, and he felt disgusting just feeling the welts on his skin throb in pain. He choked on the agony once more then sighed as the crack in his skull was healed._

"_Head wounds, full effect..." Aizen wrote down on a bloodstained pad he kept with him to keep track of his experiments. Now Grimmjow felt like throwing up as he watched the smile on Aizen's lips. He really was enjoying himself, the sick bastard._

"_P-Please stop, A-Aizen-sama..." Grimmjow moaned in pain, not sure how much more of this humiliation he could take._

"_Stop begging like a worthless little human and take it like a man." The latter sighed._

_Tears of frustration welled up in the corners of the teal eyes, threatening to spill. Why wouldn't anyone listen to what he said? Why wouldn't anyone even acknowledge his worth? Why did everyone treat him like some kind of tool?_

_And what really got him frustrated was the fact that he didn't know how to answer to those questions._

"_S-Stop..."_

"_Grimmjow."_

"_Please just stop."_

"_I'm warning you."_

"_Enough is enough!"_

"_Grimmjow. Shut up."_

_The Espada's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at his master. It was the first time he had ever heard Aizen insult someone like that. Usually, he settled for making it look like he cared for his subordinates, but now... he'd actually told him to shut up._

_The new revelation made him gulp down, especially when Aizen leaned in onto him._

"_Are those tears I see?" he suddenly asked, very cool about this entire situation._

"_N-No Aizen-sama!" Grimmjow gulped down nervously, blinking rapidly to clear the tears massed in the corners of his eyes._

"_You know I don't take kindly to open weakness, Grimmjow."_

"_I-I'm not crying, Aizen-sama!" Grimmjow protested._

"_Enough lies, Grimmjow. You're too young. That explains why you still feel pain." Aizen turned towards him. "I will see that you don't feel anymore. Feelings will only hinder your judgement."_

"He wants us to forget what feelings mean, throw them aside and discard them. But we can't do that. If we can't feel anymore, how will we know what's right and what's wrong? We'll lose our conscience, and we'll only become his mindless puppets."

"_I'll help you get rid of those feeling. I'll desensitize you to pain."_

"We're Arrancars. That makes us part Hollow. And Hollows don't have hearts."

"That's exactly what he wants to make you believe."

"_By the time I'm done with you... You will never scream again." Aizen grinned sadistically, making the young Espada's heart pump faster. Oh Kami, what now?_

_The answer came to him in the form of a whiplash. He didn't even know –or wanna know- where Aizen got his whip so quickly, but it was real alright, and it stung terribly every time it slashed open his skin._

"_Forget the pain."_

_Tears welled up again._

"_Cast your feelings aside."_

_Ulquiorra had been right all along._

"_Give yourself over to me."_

_Gosh, he needed a mask, and STAT._

"_Your soul is dead, you only live to serve."_

_When he thought about it, it really was hard to keep up his mask._

"_If you empty your mind..."_

_He had to try._

"_Only then will you become strong."_

_Only then would he become strong._

"_AAAAAAH!"_

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

"AAAAAAH!"

Shooting up, Grimmjow checked his surroundings. White, white, everything was white! It made him crazy.

"Grimmjow."

Panting, he turned around a bit, and grabbed his arms, feeling for any bruises or bumps where needles had been inserted recently.

"Grimmjow, calm down."

His hand met with something made of metal inserted in the crook of his left elbow, and his mind instantly reeled in panic. Through the delirious haze covering his eyes, he made out an IV needle.

Oh gosh, a needle.

Grabbing it roughly, he was about to rip it out of his skin when suddenly, something impacted his forehead, clattering to the floor right afterwards.

Slowly, he breathed in deep and exhaled to calm himself down, and let go of the IV, blinking and looking towards the person who'd thrown the metal thing at him.

"U-Ulquiorra..." he whispered, watching as the older Espada sighed and sipped some soup out of a bowl.

"Are you completely calm or must I chuck another spoon at you?" the green-eyed Arrancars snickered lightly, sipping some more.

"W-Where did you get that?" Grimmjow's stomach rumbled loudly at the smell of food and his mouth started watering almost instantly.

"Kurosaki brought it to me a few minutes ago. He should be back to check on you soon so you can ask him some when he gets back." He shrugged.

"You're just greedy." The Sexta accused.

"No, I'm hungry." The Cuatra shrugged in return.

Just as Grimmjow was about to reply, the door slid open and Ichigo walked in, a bored look on his face and -to the Espadas' delight- a pot of soup and some bowls on a tray in his hands.

"Ah, sleeping beauty's awake I see." He greeted as he walked in.

"Watch it Kurosaki." Grimmjow growled, crossing his arms.

"Hey, hey, respect. I treated you, gave you a roof to sleep under and am going to feed you. The least you could say is good morning." The teenager sighed out, irritated.

"Fine." Grimmjow mumbled. "Good morning."

"Actually, it's good afternoon, but whatever." Ichigo snickered as he put the tray down on the counter and headed for Grimmjow.

"But you just said-"

"I said whatever." Ichigo rolled his eyes as he roughly grabbed Grimmjow's left arm, inspecting the half-pulled needle. "You pulled it out?" he asked in a desperate tone.

"I-I..." Grimmjow blushed. "I didn't know..." it was the only thing he found he could say.

"Fine, fine, just calm down. It's an IV, for your information, and yes, it IS supposed to be sticking in your arm. It's fluids. It'll help dilute your blood and get it to flow faster to help you heal faster." Ichigo explained as he gently pulled the needle out, grabbing a new one to replace it with.

"He doesn't like needles." Ulquiorra explained briefly as he sipped some soup, making Grimmjow's stomach grumble again.

"Shut up, no one asked." Grimmjow blushed in embarrassment as Ichigo cleaned the tip of the new needle, hooked it up to a new bag of fluids and took Grimmjow's hand again, steadying it.

He then put some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and wiped the surface of the small bruise that had been created where the IV had been inserted. Grimmjow shivered as memories flew back into his mind.

Ichigo was just about to insert the needle when he suddenly jerked his arm free, holding it close against him.

"I... I don't want it." He decided, gulping down as he stared at the demonic needle in the teen's hands.

"It won't hurt." Ichigo cooed gently, putting his hand over his. "Besides, you have to take it if you wanna heal faster."

"The fluids are gonna hurt."

"Consider it like water. It's a very neutral composition."

"I'll drink water and get that done."

"It's not the same."

With a slightly rough movement, Ichigo jerked Grimmjow's arm down on the mattress to get a stable hold when inserting the needle. Grimmjow was just about to pull back again when Ulquiorra snickered.

"You're such a baby..."

"Oh shut up, Cifer, I bet you cried the second time Aizen-"

The two stopped reacting at the same time, Grimmjow seriously regretting his words and Ulquiorra frowning sadly.

He didn't even feel the prick on his skin as Ichigo reinserted the needle.

"S-Sorry... I-I didn't mean to..." the Sexta started, ignoring Ichigo for the moment.

"It's okay." Ulquiorra cut him off. "You were yelling things in your sleep again, so I figured you were having the _Nightmare_ again anyways..." the Cuatra whispered as he put his empty bowl of soup down and hugged his knees. Grimmjow felt horrible as he noticed the IV in Ulquiorra's arm as well. How come the Cuatra took it so easily and he had so much trouble? Exactly how weak was he?

"Yes... I saw that time when you-"

"Shut up, Jaegerjaques. It's all history now. Just forget it." Ulquiorra turned to him and smiled lightly as an encouragement.

"Hey, you guys."

The two ex-Espada turned to Ichigo, who was holding up two bowls of steaming chicken noodle soup.

"I know I'm not a part of this conversation, but I did become a part of this team the moment I agreed to help you." He sighed. "And even if you won't tell me everything, I at least wanna know what you're talking about." He demanded.

"Oh, the _Nightmare_?" Grimmjow shrugged. "I can't always remember correctly. It's usually just memories from my experiences in Las Noches. I don't really know what happens, but I do know that I freaks me out cause I always wake up in cold sweat afterwards." He brushed it off with a simple lie, just like he was used to doing.

"I see." Ichigo nodded, then held out the two bowls of soup to each Arrancar. "Hungry?"

"Gladly." Grimmjow nodded.

"The world will never know..." Ulquiorra commented wryly as he grabbed a second serving.

"Thank you for the food." Grimmjow muttered.

"_The world can never know..."_

"How long have we been out anyway?" Grimmjow asked after a while as he devastated his fourteenth serving of soup.

"A week." Ichigo shrugged as he sipped some soup along with them, leaned back on a rolling chair he found in the clinic.

"A week!" Ulquiorra almost choked his soup out, genuinely surprised.

"Well, I'm surprised too. Dad said you two would be out like lights for at least two weeks, but here you are, alive and healthy in just half the time." He shrugged.

"A week is still a lot..." Ulquiorra noted worriedly.

"Yes, Aizen has had more than enough time to prepare himself to come after us."

"Ah, stop worrying so much about Aizen." Ichigo butted in. "We've informed Soul Society and they're keeping tight watch over him for any openings they could use to take him out."

"They should know it won't work that easily." Grimmjow commented wryly, holding out his bowl for another serving.

"It's better than nothing, I think. At least now we can keep tabs on his movements." The Shinigami shrugged.

There was a silence as Ichigo served Grimmjow his fifteenth serving, and the threesome ate in silence. Finally, Ulquiorra spoke up.

"Does... Does Soul Society know about... us?" he inquired nervously, a knot tying in his stomach.

"Not yet. We haven't told them. For all they know, all the Espada have been killed. We don't know what their reaction would be facing the truth, so we didn't want to take any risks, especially when you two were unconscious and unable to defend yourselves." The ten explained.

"Mhm..." Ulquiorra nodded as he handed his bowl out for his sixteenth serving.

"Didn't you two eat enough yet?" Ichigo sighed in desperation as he scraped the bottom of the pot for the last serving. "I bet Yuzu will complain if I make her prepare another pot for you two gluttons." He muttered to himself.

"We're hungry." The two Arrancar simply answered at the same time, slurping down what they realized would be their last servings of food.

The three teens ate in silence again until Ichigo stopped and thought for a while.

"Ulquiorra, you know, I've never seen you so... emotionally open before..." he noted, making Ulquiorra stop eating and look up at the ceiling.

"Ah, that. Well, it's because I feel obligated to wear masks." He simply answered, leaving Ichigo puzzled.

"All of us have to have a mask somewhere. You never know when you might need it to protect your heart." Grimmjow added, trying to make Ichigo understand.

The latter simply stared, then sighed.

"Forget I asked." He turned around, and for a moment, the Espada thought he hadn't gotten what they had told him. He proved them wrong by suddenly turning back around and smiling sweetly at them. "I knew what you meant, I just needed to make sure."

Grimmjow's heart sped up as he watched Ichigo's smile.

No fake smiles.

Finally.

Closing his eyes, he sipped his last drop of soup and put his bowl down, smiling down at his blankets in return.

He liked it here.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Now I feel like soup -.-" Oh wellz :/ OOC-NESS FOR THE WIN. But only in this chapter.**

**Kay, extremely dark and depressing chapter... Did anyone have a depression overdose? No? That's good! ^^**

**Okay, so here's my theory. All the Espada have created some kind of a mask for them to hide what they really feel from their enemies (yes, that includes Aizen, cause Aizen sucks D:) and each have their predetermined "personality" that they want the world to see. And they can only be themselves when they're away from the enemy's eyes. So Grimm and Ulqui are finally starting to drop their masks and open up. Cause seriously? No one would ever want to willingly obey Aizen. Cause Aizen's such an ass O_O"**

**Also, this chapter was a double text. If there is something you didn't understand, it's probably because you just read the words and didn't look for the actual meaning of the sentence. The first part of the chapter are the words. The second text is underlined. It's all the sentences that subtely stand out, and when put together, make another back backstory. Everything has a link, whether it be in the nightmare sequence or in the real world sequence. If you have nothing better to do and did not understand everything, go back and read. You'll be surprised how many sentences hint at other sentences in the chapter and together, reveal a part of the Espada's past.**

**Of course, I'm always open for questions.**

**So yeah... next chapter will be extremely light to compensate for all the brain cells that died in your head while reading this chapter. Our favourite Espada (well, my two fav Espada, anyway) will finally get a taste of the real world! (and tacos :3)**

**So yeah. I'm kinda disappointed cause I got one revew last chapter and like, 5720657258 favs O_O" (maybe not that much, but you get the point -.-"). I mean, it's not like the lack of reviews is because of the lack of readers, there are a bunch of fav-ers! So pleeeaassseee, would you be kind enough to leave a review? Just one word will do )': You don't need to write an essay, just whatever crosses your mind at that moment will do D:**

**Yep, yep. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go study... No wait, I have to go panic for my math exam tomorrow O_O" WISH ME LUCK~**

**Oh, and please review *chibi Grimmkitty makes puppy dog eyes* PLEASE? :3**


	4. 3: Boys' Day Out?

**Author's Notes:**

**Woosh~ Boom of reviews last chapter, and I thank you all for it. I think my motivation is BACK! :DD**

**Kay, this chapter is very light, to compensate for the last one *shivers just thinking about it* And for the next one as well. What? Check the genre for this story, I can't have them prancing around in fields of flowers all day long, now can I? -.-"**

**Kay, so I'd like to thank a bunch of people for their awesome reviews. Thank youuuuu Sath-chan Blues Kitty, Fox573, KamiKari519, TTfanTT, TimelessTears, .lolcatsrule. and deadpoolhulk.**

**Also, I'd like to apologize in advance for all the OOC-ness in this chapter. I tried to make it look a little comical but obviously failed at it ):**

**Kay, enjoyy~ Keep the complaints for the end pl0x xD**

* * *

"What now?" Ulquiorra asked as he dropped onto his mattress with a thump, his stomach finally full.

"First of all, you two will take a shower." Ichigo decided for them. "Simply because you stink."

There was an awkward silence as the two Espada blushed madly, looking at Ichigo. He only noticed their stares after a while and realized what he'd said a little afterwards.

"Let me rephrase." He coughed nervously. "You two will take turns in the shower because you smell like dead rats."

"Ah, gotcha." Grimmjow nodded. "I call firsties."

"I need one more than you do." Ulquiorra protested.

"Get in line, Princess." Grimmjow retorted.

"Boys, relax." Ichigo groaned, only slightly amused by their very out-of-character antics. "Grimmjow, go in first. The bathroom is through that door there." He pointed at a door with a picture of a toilet on it. "Don't lock it cause Imma come drop a towel off for you after you get in." He muttered.

"Alright." The blue-haired teen grinned, feeling victorious. His victory slightly died when he got out of bed and only managed to stumble.

"Whoa, you okay?" Ichigo was immediately at his side. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah. My muscles are just sore from being ignored for so long." He grunted, rubbing a knot on his shoulder blades.

"Ah, okay. The shower will help then." Ichigo nodded, taking his arm. "Let me just remove the IV. Don't move this time." He reprimanded.

"Yes mom." Grimmjow growled, a little irritated. He waited for Ichigo to finish, then immediately headed for the bathroom.

Grimmjow suddenly stopped and slowly turned around, glaring at Ichigo.

"I'm not wearing my hakama, am I?"

"You just noticed?" the teen looked at him wide-eyed.

Ulquiorra slipped his head under the covers briefly and gasped as he came back out.

"I did too!"

"Who touched our clothes while we were unconscious?" Grimmjow asked very seriously.

"I changed your pants." Ichigo stayed neutral in front of Grimmjow's glare. "Just your pants. Relax. Anyways, it's not like you have something I don't." He shrugged innocently.

"R-Right..." Ulquiorra whispered from the side, pulling his legs to his chest self-consciously and laying his head down on his knees. Not even bothering to inquire why he acted so, Ichigo made a move for Grimmjow to go on.

The blue-haired Espada nodded, threw a look towards Ulquiorra's curled up form, then entered the bathroom.

"Alright." Ichigo turned towards the Cuatra Espada. "Do you need anything from me? If not, then just lay down. I'll go get some towels and clean clothes for you to wear after your shower. I'll be right back, okay?" he smiled, and when Ulquiorra didn't reply, he exited.

The Cuatra stayed in his foetal position for a little while, then extended his legs back down and turned in his covers. He would make sure nothing ever happened to him again. There was nothing to be worried about.

"Right?" he asked as he laid his clouded eyes over Grimmjow's empty bed.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

After their shower, the orange-haired teen had changed their bandages and the two Espada changed into the clothes that Ichigo had brought them. While Ulquiorra found them a bit too large, Grimmjow found them a little tight, and so, Ichigo had no choice but to try and find new ones for them.

"Alright, stay here, I'll go ask my dad for his credit card so we can go buy you some fitting clothes." He sighed as he watched Ulquiorra fiddle with the long sleeves up his green shirt. By his side, Grimmjow was fiddling with his jeans, so tight they almost looked like skinny jeans.

"Ichigoooo!"

The threesome turned around just in time to see the door slide open, Ichigo's father jumping in and landing a flying kick on Ichigo's jaw. The two Espada gaped in astonishment as Ichigo flew and hit a bed, groaning as he got up immediately.

"Seriously, old man, will you stop that?" was the first thing he yelled.

"It's not my fault if you're not alert and on your toes at all times." The older man shrugged as he picked at his fingernails.

"What kind of father are you, idiot?" the teen growled as he rubbed his jaw.

"The father who would do anything to protect his sons..." he looked serious for just one moment, and then... "And look good in the eyes of his beloved wife!" he pulled out a picture of Ichigo's deceased mom and started cuddling it. "Masakiiii, see how your son has grown up!" he cooed lovingly.

A vein pumping in Ichigo's temple, he walked forward and promptly punched his father on the head, effectively letting him drop the picture and clutch his head.

"Now that was mean, Ichi..." the old man sniffled, rubbing his head.

"Whatever. Can you gimme your credit card? We need to go buy these two some clothes." He quickly asked.

"I don't see why you'd need new clothes since they're just fine wearing yours..." Isshin muttered, getting up and looking at the Espada.

One of them looked like the toughest guy he'd ever see in his life, with tight jeans, converse, a blue shirt and white jacket.

The other was the complete opposite, looking like a lost, helpless little boy with his long sleeved pale green shirt and baggy jeans, wearing black running shoes with the laces untied.

"Oh Kami-sama!" Isshin cried, running for Ulquiorra and hugging him tighter, rubbing his cheek on his hair. "You're soo cute~"

"Mr Kurosaki Sir..." Ulquiorra wheezed as his half-healed ribs cringed under the pressure. "Y-You're hurting me, Sir..."

"Oh, sorry, sorry." Ichigo's dad gasped, putting Ulquiorra down and fixing a few strands of stray hair. "Now be careful Ulquiorra. There are lots of dangerous people out there and-"

"Dad." Ichigo growled. "He used to be the Cuatra Espada. He can handle himself." He sighed.

"Oh, right, right!" Isshin waved dismissively, laughing at his own mistake. The very feminine laugh made the three teens sweatdrop, simultaneously asking themselves if this guy was for real.

"Dad. Credit card." Ichigo reminded him with a hopeless sigh, putting his hand out.

"Here you go son." Isshin smiled, putting the card in Ichigo's hand.

"Thanks. We're off." Ichigo announced as he headed for the door, the two Espada following him unsurely, watching Ichigo's father from the corner of their eyes.

"Okay boys! Be careful! Spend wisely and don't talk to strangers who have candy for you~" Ichigo's dad called after them, waving with tears glistening in his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, just grow up already." The Shinigami teen sighed before slamming the door shut.

"He's your father?" Ulquiorra immediately inquired after they walked out of the house.

"Unfortunately." Ichigo muttered.

"He... doesn't seem like he was the day you took us in..." Grimmjow noted.

"He has his moments of spazz." Ichigo shrugged. "Especially when he realizes that one of the people he cares for is growing up."

The two Espada simultaneously looked at each other, each having a clear look in their eyes saying _"people he... cares for?" _as they nodded in unison and smiled.

"Now. We'll head to the mall first, see if we can't find you something you like." The teen shrugged, relaxed. "Around four or five, maybe, we could go eat if you get hungry... And maybe we could get some ice cream on the pier if it's not too late afterwards." He planned out.

"Sounds good to me." Grimmjow muttered, trying to hide his blush. To think he'd ever need Ichigo's help like this. No... to think Ichigo would ever _help_ them like this. It felt nice...

The mall wasn't far of a walk, but it was enough to let Grimmjow and Ulquiorra get a taste of the real world. First impression?

It was noisy. Very noisy.

Be it cars passing by on the street or people chatting relentlessly on their cell phones or children screaming for their moms to buy them candy... It. Was. Noisy.

They finally found a haven once their entered the mall. It was cozy inside as it'd been gusting outside, so the two Espada found comfort in the warm air inside. It was almost much quieter and calm music was playing in the background.

"Alright, this way." Ichigo led them towards a nearby clothing store. The two Arrancars' eyes widened as they entered, their gaze falling upon all the colourful clothes on the racks.

"So many colours..." Ulquiorra marvelled.

"Unlike in Hueco Mundo..." Grimmjow commented.

"Where the only colourful thing was your hair." The Cuatra commented before running after Ichigo, who was already heading deeper.

"And Szayel's!" the Sexta yelled after him as he ran to catch up, ignoring the pang that the deceased Espada's name created in his heart.

"Alright, you two." Ichigo sighed once they were in the boys' section. "We need something warm as fall is advancing, so jeans will do, unless you find something you like and that will protect you from the cold." He walked over to a rack and picked up a pair of jeans, showing them the tag behind it. "The sizes are on this tag. You are both wearing mediums, so Ulquiorra, look for small-sized jeans and Grimmjow, large." He instructed.

"I feel fat." Was the first thing that popped out of Grimmjow's mouth.

"No, it's just that your muscles are more developed than mine or Ulquiorra's." Ichigo corrected with a snicker.

Grimmjow muttered something unintelligible before Ichigo started explaining again.

"As for tops, look for long sleeved shirts. If none of them match your taste, you can look through the t-shirts, but if you do choose to wear t-shirts, you'll have to pick up jackets as well cause it will get colder from now on." He nodded. "The changing rooms are over there." He pointed to a set of double door on one of sides of the store. "Once you pick out some stuff, go there and ask to try them on. The worker there will ask you how many things you chose and will give you a tag with a number on it. Just hang the tag on the changing room door you choose before getting inside. That's all." He finished. "Oh, and for Kami's sake, don't let anyone see your Hollow Holes..."

"Right." The two Espada nodded, looking around them.

"If you need anything, I'll be waiting for you here." Ichigo motioned to one of the couches in front of the changing rooms.

"Okay, let's go then." The Sexta Espada sighed, running a hand through his messy hair.

This was gonna be a looong day.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

By the time the trio got out, it was already six o'clock. Thankfully, the two ex-Espada had found a bunch of clothes they liked, and so, all three of them were relieved they didn't need to repeat the experience again for a while.

Shopping is a tiring thing.

On the bright side, Ulquiorra was not constantly holding his pants up anymore as he'd chosen to keep wearing one of the jeans he bought to his size, and at least now they could see his hands under the sleeves. As for Grimmjow, he was just glad he didn't need to be afraid of ripping Ichigo's jeans anymore every time he took a step and was relieved to see that the shirt he'd picked up was ample enough to cover his Hollow Hole instead of sticking to his skin and highlighting the frame.

"Let's go eat now." Grimmjow whined as he tiredly carried the bags containing the clothes he'd picked out.

"Alright, we'll go the food court and you can pick something out." Ichigo calmly nodded as he pocketed his father's_ abused_ credit card.

The Arrancars' eyes widened in awe as they spotted all the different food stores around the circular area, their noses immediately assailed by all kinds of nice smells.

Obviously, since they didn't know much about human food, they looked confused until Ichigo sighed.

"What did you eat in Hueco Mundo?"

"Slop." Grimmjow immediately complained.

"Wheat shells filled with meat and vegetables." Ulquiorra's description didn't sound very bad, but he suddenly winced. "Every single tiiiime..." the Cuatra whined.

Ichigo smiled nervously and looked around.

"Sounds like... tacos..." he shrugged.

Grimmjow was about to say something, but his stomach rumbled, and he clutched it, blushing.

"Kay, so where are these _tacos_ of which you speak?"

"That way." The shinigami retained the urge to laugh as they headed for a Mexican food stand and ordered. After having paid and picked their food up, they all headed for an empty table and sat down.

"Itadakimasu." The two Arrancar muttered, and simultaneously started picking at their food. At the same time, they grabbed their tacos and bit in them, slowly chewing, tasting, and then...

They dropped their sandwiches and started whining in low voices at the same time.

"It tastes exactly like what we used to eat..." Ulquiorra was the first to comment.

"If I eat one more of these things, I think I'll die..." Grimmjow added.

The sight of the two previously glorious Espada sulking over their food was so amusing that Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle.

He'd certainly picked up an interesting pair of people on that fateful night, that's for sure.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

"I've always wanted to see the sea up close, you know." Ulquiorra broke the silence as he watched the waves roll onto the shore.

"Understandable, though the sand's really getting on my nerves." Grimmjow growled, licking his ice cream cone to distract himself from the sand all around him.

"You didn't have a beach in Hueco Mundo?" the teen accompanying them asked, surprised. "I figured with that much sand, there ought to be at least one beach..."

"You wish." The Cuatra scoffed, licking his ice cream. "It's all sand, just sand, sand and sand as far as the eye can see."

"And this huge-ass building in the middle of it all." The cat-like Arrancar added, putting one hand in his pocket and slouching down on the bench. His weary eyes surveyed the orange glow of the sun that reflected off the waves, marking the start of a normal evening.

"I see." Ichigo smiled and licked his popsicle. "Must have been a monotonous lifestyle."

Silence reigned for a while as the seagulls cried overhead, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore soothing the teenagers sitting on the bench.

"Maybe that's why he wanted us so devoid of emotion..." the pale-skinned Arrancar suddenly spoke up. "To lead a monotonous lifestyle with no feeling or purpose and slowly turn into a vegetable... an easily controllable vegetable, that is..."

There was another depressive silence during which even the seagulls stopped crying, and the Espadas' eyes fell. And whatever had the Espada concerned had Ichigo concerned as well, so general depression was hovering above them.

"Hey." Grimmjow suddenly got up from the bench. "What're we all gloomy about?" he stuffed his ice cream completely in his mouth. "All's well that ends well and _damn_ this stuff is cold!" he finished his sentence by choking and shivering as the lump of ice cream slid painfully down his throat, freezing everything in its tracks.

Ichigo laughed as he watched Grimmjow clutch his head and brace himself for the incoming brainfreeze, and got up to throw his popsicle stick away. Only Ulquiorra stayed, watching Grimmjow's antics with light amusement. His mind was occupied by something else.

"_What was the point of all the pain if he was just gonna let us go in the end?"_

Of course he couldn't let them go...

"_After all the effort he's put into creating us Espada..."_

After all the sadistic enjoyment _his _Espada brought him.

"_His Espada..."_

_The_ Espada...

"What is our purpose?"

With that thought left hanging, Ulquiorra got up and threw his ice cream in a nearby garbage can, having lost all appetite. Even as Grimmjow was harping about how hungry he was and Ichigo protesting they ate only a couple of hours ago, his mind went back, back to the old days when all he could do was try to survive. And as he watched his surroundings, he realized that the past was gone, and all he had left was the happiness he'd been pulled away from his entire life.

Pleased, the Cuatra looked up at the orange sky, took a deep breath, smiled lightly, and broke into a run to catch up with his friends.

Behind a pole next to the bench they were sitting on a moment ago, a shadow moved in to observe them walk away, and then suddenly vanished into thin air.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Don't own Bleach. Don't eat me.**

**Omnious endings FTW? O_O"**

**Gosh, I know this was short, don't spit me back out and eat me again please D:**

**Hahaha, a big THANKYOUUUU to TimelessTears who suggested having Isshin going all mother hen over Ulquiorra xD Love the idea (along with pimp Ulquiorra and pet kitty Grimmy, although my scanner broke down yesterday so I can't any work done, sowwy...) If you have any ideas you'd like to see in this story, whether they be angsty or just plain silly, send them in via review or PM and I'll see if I can do anything with it :DD **

**On a random sidenote, my new last name in -site censored for my protection- is Jaegerjacques-Cifer... So I just realized the other day that that insinuates that I'm the result of a union between Grimmjow and Ulquiorra O_O" Lol? **

**And next chapter's gonne be HUGE. Although I could just break it down into two parts. I'll see, whatever gets the update faster (:**

**Ulquiorra's the cutest uke you've evar seen, right? ^^ And Grimmy's the sexiest seme you'll ever see in your life, so shut up and enjoy it while it lasts *drools***

**Kay, so, uhh... direct your complaints towards me via review, if ya want O_O" I mean, if you have any complaints, I ain't gonna eat you (what's with eating people today? O_O" I suddenly feel very cannibalistic xD) so yep, just REVIEW to make my day :DD If we can make it past 50 reviews on this story, I'll make you all a very (un-)beautiful piece of art and feature your names on it :'D YOU'D LIKE THAT, WOULDN'T YOU! YES YOU WOULD!**

**So please review (: K, love you all, thanks for enduri-errrr... reading, and PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE REVIEW!**

**Or must I get Ulquiorra and his kawaii uke face out here to plead to you? -.-"**


	5. 4: Arrancarla

**Author's Notes:**

**Once more, here we go~**

**So did everyone have a nice Halloween? I did, for sure :D I went to this amazing Halloween party organized by the Otakuthon staff and had an amaaaazing time :3 We danced the night away to Para Para and anime music, all in cosplay ;D Too much fun to handle for one night, my legs still hurt from all the dancing (:**

**And I went trick-or-treating, yeeeey (: Got lots of candy. A very peculiar story, almost spooky, happened to me on Halloween night, but more on that next chapter as it intrigued me so much that I decided to insert it into the story itself O:**

**And once more, here we go for the thank yous (: Thank you all for reviewing, you are making me immensely happy by reviewing, y'know. I updated sooner cause I remembered a lot of people asked me update soon, so I made an effort and wrote faster today :D So thank you KakushiMiko, Sath-chan Blues Kitty, Fox573, dimonyo-anghel, Skyeh, Coolgirl150, tifalochrt, TTfanTT and TimelessTears for your heartwarming reviews~**

**So here you go! Hope you enjoy (: Title of the chapter is spanish for "Rip It Off" for those who don't speak spanish (:**

**Warning: OOC-ness (duuuuh) and violence, and I don't remember if there's swearing, but if there is, can't say I didn't warn ya O_O"**

* * *

"Morning..." Grimmjow yawned as he got up and stretched, rubbing his head.

"Morning..." Ichigo answered with a yawn, too lazy to even stretch.

Ulquiorra simply mumbled in his half-asleep daze.

"Were you okay sleeping on a mattress like that?" the youngest of them asked as he rolled off the bed and fell down on Grimmjow's mattress with a groan.

"Yeah, it's actually quite comfortable." The blue-haired Espada muttered as he watched Ichigo lie down a couple of feet next to him.

"I'm just surprised we could all fit in my room." The orange-haired teen shrugged, looking at Ulquiorra. The smaller Espada had been given a smaller mattress and was squished in between Grimmjow's mattress and the closet where Rukia usually hung out when she came to visit. Then again, he didn't seem to mind the tight space as the tranquil, tired expression on his face proved he was content with what he had.

"Yeah, sorry about busting in like this." The Sexta whispered again, slightly embarrassed.

"That's okay. Now that you're on our side, I have to do whatever it takes to help you get better. Although I can't erase everything..." Grimmjow froze at that. "I can help you learn how to live." Ichigo smiled. "So." He pushed himself up and stood in front of Grimmjow with a grin. "Welcome to the Kurosaki residence. Make yourself at home."

Speechless in front of all this kindness, Grimmjow gaped for a moment before lowering his gaze and blushing. Of all the people who'd ever help them in time of need...

"Thanks, Ichigo..." he whispered. "I can't thank you enough..."

"It's okay, don't mention it." The teen smiled.

"And... sorry." The Sexta added in a breath just below a whisper.

"What?" a shocked expression crossed the Shinigami's face. Grimmjow, the fierce and Almighty Sexta Espada had apologized? Had he heard right? "Did you just-"

The cat-like Arrancar cut him off by sinking back into his sheets and hiding his burning cheeks in his pillow.

"I said I'm hungry." A muffled sound came from the pillow.

Ichigo stared for just one more moment before smiling lightly and nodding.

"Yeah... Wake Ulquiorra up and I'll go get us some breakfast..." he suggested before leaving.

Grimmjow only removed his face from the pillow once he made sure Ichigo had left. His cheeks were turning red fast as he realized he was building ties with the person he wanted to kill only a few days ago. Then again, if his heart said it's a good thing, he figured he should just continue doing whatever he was doing.

"Oi, Ulquiorra, move your lazy butt out of bed." The Sexta roughly nudged the Cuatra's shoulder, making him roll and hit the closet with a groan before getting up and glaring at his assailant. He was just about to say something when Grimmjow's gaze neutered. "And don't you dare pull ranks on me."

The Cuatra's mouth shut as soon as it was opened, and the two sat in an awkward silence for a while.

"So, what's up?" Ulquiorra finally asked, staring out the window on the other side of the room, next to Ichigo's bed.

"Ichigo went to get us breakfast. I guess we just hang around and wait for him to come back." Grimmjow told him as he directed his gaze at the same spot Ulquiorra was staring at. The sun was shining bright today and it looked beautiful outside.

That is, until there was a suddenly shadow, startling the two Ex-Espada, who jerked out of their trance and stared dumbly as two Shinigami appeared in front of the window and opened it, sneaking inside while muttering things t each other. Obviously, they hadn't been noticed.

"Ichigo's gonna be surprised..." the girl giggled as the red-haired man rolled his eyes.

"Sure."

That's when the two turned their eyes to the room, and gazes crossed.

"Espada!" the black-haired girl and the man exclaimed, pulling out their zanpakuto swiftly.

"Shinigami!" Just as promptly, the Espada jumped up and drew their zanpakuto, each side pointing their weapons at the other.

"What are you doing here?" the girl cried out roughly as she clutched her sword tighter.

"Same question here, Shinigami." Ulquiorra winced as pain racked through his half-healed ribs as the sudden movement.

"Shit, what do we do, Rukia? We're no match for them alone..." the male whispered.

"Where the hell is Ichigo?" the girl, Rukia, seethed in response.

As if answering, the door opened at that very moment, all eyes upon the teenager who strode calmly inside the room, a platter carrying their breakfasts in his arms.

There was a heavy silence and then Ichigo sighed.

"Renji, Rukia, please lower your weapons." He muttered uninterestedly.

"Ichigo, what the hell is wrong with you? Are you blind?" Renji all but yelled, making the two Espada tense. Feeling the tension in the air, Grimmjow made a move to release, but pain shot up his arm, making him cringe and clutch his shoulder where his arm had almost been cut off the other day.

"Grimmjow, Ulquiorra." Just as calmly, Ichigo put the breakfasts down on his desk. "Please lower your weapons then. These two are friends of mine."

Still weary, the two Espada exchanged glances before deciding that showing them they had no harmful intentions was the best idea. Slowly, their zanpakuto slid back into their sheaths and the sheaths fell to the floor with an audible clang.

Stunned, the two Shinigami simply stared as the Arrancars lowered their weapons and stared at Ichigo for more directions.

"Alright." The teen cheerfully decided. "I think we can eat."

"About time." Grimmjow muttered as he grabbed the plate Ichigo was handing him.

"Yeah, I'm starving." Ulquiorra rolled his eyes as he accepted his serving.

"I'm sorry." Ichigo grabbed his plate and stuffed some bacon in his mouth before turning to Rukia and Renji, who looked about to faint at the sight of the threesome. "Did you want any of this?" he asked, putting his plate out towards them.

"W-Who are you and what have you done with Ichigo?" Rukia demanded, putting her sword out so close to Ichigo he could feel the coldness from the blade against his forehead.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute shinigami and representative of Karakura Town, at your service." Ichigo stared at her dumbly. "I just happen to have two previous members of the Espada recovering from their otherwise-fatal wounds in my room." He munched on a sausage.

Rukia kept staring.

"B-but y-you... t-they... I-I..." she finally sighed and sheathed her zanpakuto, sitting down on Ichigo's bed. "You'd better have a good explanation for this, Kurosaki." She glared at the Ex-Espada who did their best to ignore her murderous gaze and munch on bacon and toast.

"We do." Ichigo assured her with a smile as he drank some milk and sat down on his chair.

"Start from the beginning." Renji muttered, following in Rukia's footsteps and sitting right next to her. "Why the hell are they here?" he forcefully asked, gritting his teeth and almost getting the strong-willed Espada to shrink under the hateful glare. Why did everyone hate them so?

"Long story short. Aizen went berserk –as usual- and killed all the Espada and these two managed to escape." Ichigo summarized, seeing as the Arrancars obviously didn't wanna talk about it.

Surprisingly, though, Grimmjow directly addressed the subject right after Ichigo finished explaining. It was just a couple of words, but it made Ichigo realize that they were finally recovering from the blow of losing everything they'd grown up with after such a short time.

"Son of a bitch."

There was another silence and then Rukia sighed.

"Then why would we give a damn what happens in Hueco Mundo?" she looked away, crossing her arms.

Grimmjow forced himself to drink some milk to choke down the angry scream that could have easily torn out of his throat. After all, who wouldn't feel angry -and somewhat sad- for being hated for something they couldn't help?

"I'm with Rukia on this one, Ichigo." Renji gave him a sympathetic look. "They're Arrancars, we're Shinigami. They're Espada, and we strive to wipe all worlds clean of Espada. They're Aizen's soldiers, they serve our greatest enemy. Their goal in life is to eliminate us just as our goal in life is to eliminate them."

Grimmjow's fingers twitched and he subtly reached for his zanpakuto, wishing more than anything to shut the two annoying Shinigami up. They didn't know anything, they couldn't judge them like that! It felt unfair to have people look down upon them and actually BELIEVE they belonged to Aizen. It infuriated him to no end.

Thankfully for everyone in the room, Ulquiorra suddenly snatched Grimmjow's wrist, squeezing. The Sexta turned around and stared in surprise at the Cuatra, who was giving him a dead serious warning stare.

"I'm sorry to intrude upon your conversation." The ebony-haired Arrancar cut in before anyone could add anything. "We are not Aizen's _anything_. We live, breathe and remain conscious of our surroundings. It would be someone unfair and irrelevant to call us anything but free men." He glared at the two Shinigami, who stared back with as much surprise as on Grimmjow's face.

And here was Ulquiorra, the least reactive of all Espada, standing up for their rights.

Coming down to the real world sure had changed them a lot already...

"He's right." Grimmjow snatched his wrist out of Ulquiorra's grasp and rubbed it for a moment before getting up. "Minimal respect would be appreciated." He headed for the door and paused as his hand clenched around the handle. "Thanks for breakfast. I'm going out for some fresh air."

And he exited.

"I'll follow him." Ulquiorra excused himself and threw the Shinigami a look before running out after his companion.

"I don't see why you have to care." Rukia immediately commented after he'd left.

"Because. They hold lots of information we could use on Aizen. Besides." He looked Rukia straight in the eyes even if she tried to divert her ashamed gaze. "They were wounded and teetering on the brink of death. I couldn't just let them die. They're hurting too. I have to help them."

"You can't help everyone you find." Renji commented. "They're your enemies. As soon as they're recovered enough to start fighting again, they're gonna try and kill you."

"I don't believe that." Ichigo confidently answered, his gaze unwavering. "Aizen killed their comrades in front of their eyes. He abandoned them to die. I'm pretty sure they put up the tough guy facade, but who knows what he's done to them in the past. He destroyed everything they grew up with and he tried to kill them. Do you still think they'd follow Aizen after all that if they had the choice?"

The Shinigami looked at each other and looked away right afterwards. After a little silence, very tense between the three teens, Rukia got up.

"I'm sorry. I guess I didn't consider it that way." She apologized.

"It's cool. Grimmjow might take it a little personally, but I'm sure they'll forget soon." The orange-haired teen laughed.

"Speaking of which, if you feel like you're in the need of saving something, I think you might wanna save that cat down there." Renji commented, pointing out the window. Ichigo rushed to his side, only to be met with a hilarious sight.

Grimmjow was sitting up in the tree a little further away from his window, his face somewhat sad as he held a random street cat by the paws, holding it up in the air. The cat meowed in fear as the Espada shook it a little, continually meowing in Grimmjow's face as the Arrancar kept gently shaking it, his expression unchanging. Below him, Ulquiorra was trying to coax him to let the poor thing go and get down from there.

Ichigo grinned, and then suddenly started laughing at the scene before him. They looked so innocent even though they've gone through so many tribulations.

Still laughing, Ichigo pulled the window open and felt the sun caressing his cheek. What a beautiful day.

"Oi, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, get in here for a moment." He called, catching both Arrancars' attentions. Grimmjow threw him an uninterested look and finally put the frightened cat down on the branch, petting it a couple of times before getting up and jumping to his windowsill, with Ulquiorra following close behind.

The two got back inside, ignoring Rukia and Renji, who were standing on the side, looking guilty.

"So first of all, we wanna say sorry." Renji muttered.

"Sorry." Rukia whispered.

"And I wanted to bring up the debate on Urahara-san's subject." The red-haired shinigami continued. "Urahara-san could help us, after all, he's very nice and he knows a lot of things. He's also very powerful so he could easily protect everyone from Soul Society."

"That's actually something we could consider, Renji." Ichigo's eyes lit up in realisation. "Of course. We could explain everything to Urahara-san, he'd understand for sure. I could even ask him if we could use his underground training cave for these two." He mused out loud.

"Ichigo, I'd like to remind you that if anyone from Soul Society learns we're alive and in the real world, we'll be dead before you can say _'ah shit'_." Grimmjow pointed out.

"True, true..." Ichigo sighed. "But I think it's for the best. Let's go see Urahara-san. At worst, I'll just have to protect you and we'll find a solution. We'll improvise. We'll see." He shrugged.

Rubbing his arm self-consciously, the blue-haired Arrancar looked down. Feeling his distress, his fellow survivor briefly put a hand on his shoulder as an encouragement and managed to let the corners of my mouth twitch a little upwards.

"Alright then. You two change so we can leave." The orange-haired shinigami decided.

"Yes mom." Grimmjow snickered, grabbing his clothes from the nearby desk and walking out to change in the bathroom.

Ulquiorra, loyal to his quiet nature, simply grabbed his clothes and walked out as well.

Ichigo simply had time to pull his shirt off before Grimmjow came running back in, this time shirtless and in his hands, a bunch of bloody bandages.

"Oi Kurosaki, do you have any spare bandages? Damn slash wound is not quite closed and Ulquiorra says he'll kick my ass if I don't wrap it up in the next three minutes." He sighed, gesturing to the large, healing scar on his shoulder. It extended from a little part of his back, over his shoulder, and down until the top of his Hollow Hole. Truly a terrifying injury. Even more so when Grimmjow remembered Aizen was the one who had given it to him.

"Yeah, they're in the second drawer in the bathroom." Ichigo simply told him, pulling on a shirt.

"Kay thanks." Grimmjow called as he left again, the number 6 carved into his skin shining like an ominous symbol as he left the room.

The Shinigami simply stared until he was gone and turned back to Ichigo, who was buttoning his pants.

"We're coming with you, I suppose." Rukia smiled.

"Only if you want." The teen shrugged before heading for the door.

Once in the hallway, he quickly spotted the Arrancars hogging the bathroom and headed for them.

"Hurry up, let's just get this over with." He sighed as he watched Grimmjow struggle with his bandages, Ulquiorra hitting him across the head once in a while to keep him steady.

"Whenever Princess decides she'll let me work in peace." The Cuatra growled lightly as he tucked one end of the bandages inside and sighed. "There, done."

"About damn time." Grimmjow muttered, pulling on his shirt and hiding everything from sight.

Ichigo only noted the gruff attitude before they left for Urahara's house.

The walk was silent once again, with Ichigo in his human form accompanying the two Espada while Rukia and Renji strode from behind. They crossed the busy streets and passed by all the restaurants that were finishing up on their morning meals, watching few people walking by at this time of the day. After all, it was Sunday, and with the workdays just around the corner, everyone wanted to sleep in late while they still could.

The five teens got to Urahara's candy shop soon enough, too soon for the Espada's liking. They weren't looking forward to meeting one of the most powerful shinigami out there, that's for sure.

Ichigo entered first, met with the shabby inside of the fake candy shop. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra entered second, looking around curiously.

"Oi Ichigo, is that you?" A boy's voice suddenly came as a red head popped from behind a rack.

"Ah, Jinta-"

Before Ichigo could say anything else, the boy spotted the Espada, gaping.

"ESPADA!"

The Arrancars simply watched in disbelieving confusion as the kid ran out with a huge bat in his hands, a girl coming out from the back with a huge machine gun on her shoulder.

The air was tense, and Ichigo simply sweatdropped as the Espada put their hands to their zanpakuto, ready to defend themselves.

"Oi, oi, calm down everyone."

All eyes went towards the staircase as a tall man with blond hair walked down to meet them, as calm as a summer breeze. He tipped his striped green and white hat and smirked.

"I welcome you to our humble abode, Espada. Please follow me. We've been expecting you all." He led them to a trap door with a cynical smile.

"Of course you knew, it's not exactly like we're hiding anything. Besides, even if you did, you always put your nose into everything so you'd know." Ichigo muttered as he followed Urahara, the Arrancar following awkwardly as they shrank under the boy's murderous glares. The girl was calm, collected, yet her analytical eye was scouring all over them, as if scanning them.

The four of them simply went down a long ladder, and to the Arrancars' surprise, ended up in a vast underground cavern.

"Where... Are we?" Grimmjow whispered in wonder as he noticed the cave went out for miles and miles.

"My underground training cave thing place." Urahara laughed, leading them towards a fountain a bit further off. "Now hurry along, we'd like to speak to you two a little about... stuff."

Gulping down nervously, the Cuatra and Sexta looked at each other, then Ichigo's back, and with a sigh, headed towards the fountain.

Once there, Urahara motioned for them to sit down, and they promptly did. Once they had all sat down, there was a small silence before-

"Meow~"

All eyes went to the fountain as a black cat came out from behind it, its paws softly padding on the dirt floor. It calmly walked towards the group and finally decided to stop in front of Grimmjow, who shrank under the feline's glare.

"Uhh... Good kitty?" he tried, awkwardly rubbing the cat behind the ears.

"Ah, Grimmjow." Ichigo winced, watching the cat smile. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I'd get away as soon as possible because-"

He didn't even have time to finish his warning as the cat disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Grimmjow coughed, and watched as it cleared.

As soon as it did, his cheeks became tomato red and his eyes widened. In front of him was sitting a butt-naked woman with long purple hair, staring at him questioningly.

"So you like cats, huh?" she purred suggestively, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ah!" Grimmjow closed his eyes and jumped back, curling up into a ball. "Not cats who randomly turn into naked women!"

Behind him, there was a thump as Ulquiorra fainted.

"Here, here Yoruichi-san." Urahara smiled as he handed the naked woman some clothes. "Go get ready and we'll get started."

"Sure." She got up and looked at Ichigo, who had his face plastered against his palms. "Oi sweetie, you wanna peek?" she giggled amusedly, watching him turn so red, it looked like he'd gotten sunburned.

"No way, you psycho woman! Go get dressed, for Yama-jii's sake!" he swore, leaving Yoruichi to laugh and hide behind a rock to change.

"Is it safe to look?" Grimmjow whispered, peeking from the corner of his eyes.

"I believe so..." Ichigo whispered back, opening his eyes and scanning around for any naked women.

"Good." The Sexta sighed out in relief and crawled to Ulquiorra's side, who had fainted out of shock, poking him in hopes of getting a reaction. "Oi lazy butt, get up."

After a moment, Ulquiorra groaned and blinked, clutching his head.

"What the hell-"

"Black cat turned into a naked woman and you fainted. The end." He blue-haired Espada snickered, giving him some room as he sat up.

"And they said Hueco Mundo was full of weird people..." the Cuatra glared at nothing in particular then crossed him arms.

"Alright then..." Urahara cut in, his tone serious. "Tell us, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, why you are here."

The two Espada looked at each other and nodded, starting their tale. Yoruichi joined in –fully clothed this time- a little later and sat down next to Urahara, listening intently.

"And that's when orange-head over there found us and took us in." Grimmjow finished the last part on a wistful note and diverted his eyes from the blonde shinigami's analytical gaze.

"I see..." Yoruichi nodded, completely serious as opposed to her previous behaviour. "So old Aizen has finally lost it."

"Why Yoruichi-san, he'd lost it a long time ago." Urahara added, and the Espada couldn't tell if it was a joke or serious.

There was a small silence and then, Kisuke started talking again.

"Ichigo... You have to tell Soul Society about these two."

"WHAT?"

Both Espada and the teenage shinigami perked up at the suggestion at the same time, gaping incredulously.

"Urahara-san, don't you get it? They'll be executed without a second thought if Soul Society even hears of them being alive! We can't just hand them in like that after everything they've been through!" he argued.

"I know, but you're already in trouble for harbouring the enemy... don't you think it'd be a good idea to just hand them over and let Soul Society deal with them?" he suggested.

"Don't you get it? Soul Society doesn't care at all! They'll just label them as threats and kill them as soon as they can!" Ichigo was practically livid in astonished anger now.

"They won't kill them." Yoruichi calmly intervened. "They carry a lot of secrets and pertinent information on Aizen. Soul Society won't get rid of something they can still use. They're not that stupid."

Ichigo opened his mouth once again to argument against Yoruichi's facts but the scrambling of feet on dirt caught everyone's attention.

All eyes turned to Grimmjow as he pushed himself up and dusted himself off so calmly, it almost scared Ichigo.

"Listen, I just don't want to be treated as a tool anymore." He simply commented in a sober, almost depressed voice. It made Ichigo's throat run dry just at the sound of all the pain locked in it.

"W-Wait!" the teen barely managed to call him back as he turned around to leave. Grimmjow turned his head halfway back, staring at the younger male with dead eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Home." He simply answered. "I know the way."

And with that, he Sonidoed to the ladder and jumped, clearing about half the steps, then jumping again to clear the second half.

There was an awkward, almost ashamed silence before Ulquiorra got up as well, mimicking Grimmjow's previous move to dust himself off. Not even saying a word, he turned around and walked a few steps before stopping again. He didn't even turn around to sombrely pronounce his next words.

"Please, I beg of you to make an effort to consider, and thus treat us as conscious, living beings before making a decision. Our lives are in your hands, and it doesn't bother us as long as you recognize their actual worth."

And with that, he Sonidoed to the ladder as well and cleared in two jumps, like his partner had done, leaving behind one astounded teen and two musing shinigami.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

Ulquiorra caught up with Grimmjow a little afterwards, running after him as he exited the grounds around the candy shop and took to the street. It was now about half past noon, and the restaurants they crossed while walking in silence were bustling, busy during the lunchtime rush-hour.

"So..." Ulquiorra muttered after a while. He waited until they'd crossed the street to begin talking again. "Why'd you get mad?"

Grimmjow simply shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up at the azure sky, sighing.

"I wasn't upset... Just... Embarrassed that Ichigo has to protect us like this." He muttered. The two of them walked in silence a bit longer, switching sidewalks and stepping onto a dirt path that led them into a half-abandoned park. Behind it was the residential area where they were headed. "After all..." he left his unfinished sentence hanging and dropped his gaze to the dirt path. "We are only mortal."

"Eager to prove it, are we?"

A cold breeze whipped past the two Ex-Espada, chilling them to the bone. Time seemed to stop as they drowned out the peripheral noise and both of their hearts skipped a beat as they recognized the voice.

They didn't need to see to know who it was.

"Ai-" Grimmjow choked on his word as an enormous reiatsu locked his throat and made his heart leap. It took him a second to adapt to the pressure being put on his entire being. "Aizen..."

As if saying the name of his old master had pulled a trigger, more reiatsu seeped out, almost sending the Espada to their knees. Bile was quickly rising up the Cuatra's throat as his ribs cringed under the pressure he'd been put under for so long. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Grimmjow felt like at the very moment.

Surprisingly, though, the Sexta managed to move a shaky hand to his zanpakuto and clenched it firmly, gritting his teeth in the meantime. It really was hard to stay standing, even, with all this reiatsu pushing down on him. But after losing so many battles, he didn't wanna lose yet another one.

Watching him move determinately, Ulquiorra gulped down. It wasn't that bad. He was stronger than Grimmjow. If Grimmjow could do it, then so could he.

His hand went to his zanpakuto and he struggled to pull it out. But just as he pulled it out, Aizen's reiatsu doubled, finally reaching its peak. It made the two Espada realize how meaningless they were, how weak they were, having been pinned down already by only about a third of Aizen's reiatsu. The pressure was now so hard that the dirt under them crumbled, making craters below their feet and getting them to sink a couple of inches.

As Grimmjow struggled to pull Pantera out, Ulquiorra simply struggled to keep holding onto Murciélago, and as an added bonus, to stop it from shaking so badly.

"Bastard..." Grimmjow managed to speak out first. "Y-You do know that with all that reiatsu you unleashed, all the shinigami in a five-mile radius will be here any second now?"

Even if Aizen wanted to reply to that, he never got the chance since the aforementioned Shinigami promptly appeared behind the lord of Hueco Mundo only milliseconds after Grimmjow pronounced his last syllable. Yellow, orange and purple hair fluttered into view as Urahara, Ichigo and Yoruichi flash-stepped behind the brown-haired ex-shinigami, all in a battle-ready position as soon as they landed.

"Well, this is an interesting development." Urahara commented wryly.

"Happy to see me, Kisuke?" Aizen smiled gently.

"Ecstatic, Sousuke." The blonde shinigami snickered humourlessly, his hand going to his zanpakuto. He was the only one to move seeing as Ichigo was having trouble moving with all the reiatsu around him and Yoruichi was busy assessing the situation.

"Ah, what a pain." Aizen sighed. "I simply came to kill _my_ Espada and you come in and protect them?"

He turned his gaze towards Ulquiorra, who had brought up Murciélago but was struggling to breathe, and then turned to Grimmjow, who was fighting to draw the other half of Pantera out of his sheath.

"You know better than anyone that I don't take kindly to weakness. Being protected by the enemy, what a disgrace." He smirked. "I don't appreciate the weak, haven't you learned that by now?" a shudder rippled through Grimmjow's skin, old scars aching dully at the mention. "And you, Ulquiorra... Usually so strong, so obedient, so submissive-"

"Shut up!"

General surprise reigned in the silence that followed as all eyes were turned to the green-eyed Arrancar. He looked ready to collapse and his pained gaze barely held back the unshed tears.

"Never. Never again." He whispered, emotion locking in his throat.

"Well then... The weak will go first." Aizen shrugged like it was nothing and flash-stepped.

The Ex-Espada gasped and looked around, reacting a little after their old master made his move. The two Arrancar Sonido-ed and avoided easily, their hearts thundering.

And suddenly, it happened.

Somehow, Aizen managed to flash step in the middle of his previous flash step and double-stepped, not giving the Espada time to land and Sonido again.

All three flash-steppers reappeared at the same time. Ulquiorra ended up next to Ichigo. Aizen ended up where the Espada had been standing before they moved. And Grimmjow... Grimmjow ended up caught by Aizen by the wrist.

Just as he realized his position, he reached for Pantera, but Aizen was too quick to grab his other wrist and twist it around, making his shoulder joint pop at the dangerous movement.

"Come here, kitty-cat." The ex-shinigami whispered in Grimmjow's ear, letting go of the Sexta's arms and squeezing him against his chest instead. His hand coolly reached for Grimmjow's mask, his fingers caressing the rough surface of the Hollow mask.

Everyone suddenly stopped moving, even Grimmjow. The latter simply froze in terror as Aizen ran his fingers along his jaw line. What followed was completely and utterly predictable.

"I've always wondered what happens..." his fingers curled around the mask and a sharp pain assailed the Sexta's cheek as his old master started pulling. "When you pull an Arrancar's mask off."

What a lie.

Both Ulquiorra and Grimmjow knew he knew. He simply wanted entertainment.

"_Entertainment..."_ Ulquiorra felt nauseous at the simple thought.

Grimmjow cringed as the pain got worse, fear evident in his wide blue eye.

The shinigami simply stared, unsure as to what to do.

"Stop!" Ulquiorra screamed, pointing Murciélago threateningly at Aizen, determined to protect his friend.

"Let him go, Aizen!" Ichigo backed him up, pulling out Zangetsu.

"Ichigo, wait." Urahara stopped him with a wave of his hand. "It looks like he's trying to rip off Grimmjow's mask. This could be bad. Arrancars who have their masks ripped off become much weaker, mutilated forever and revert back to their original Hollow forms." His grip tightened on Benihime.

"This is bad, we have to-"

Ichigo's words were cut off as a pained scream tore through the air.

All eyes turned to Grimmjow, who released another agonized cry that had been building up in his throat, weakly clawing at Aizen's arm snaked around his throat. The pain was quickly getting to his brain, sending him into a frantic panic. Half his mask was detached now and the agony was so horrible, he even forgot to breathe at some point. His heart did somersaults in his stomach every time another part of his mask was pried away from his skin.

"Grimmjow!" Ulquiorra yelled, panicking. Is this how it all ended? What could he do? They couldn't die now! "Hang on!" as Ulquiorra encouraged his weaker companion, another scream rang out, hitting another pang in Ichigo's heart. Helpless. That's all he was in a moment of need like this.

"Please stop..." the blue-haired Espada moaned, all but going limp in Aizen's arms. The pain was so bad he could barely keep his eyes open anymore.

At that very moment, Yoruichi finally made her move, flash stepping behind Aizen even before anyone noticed she was gone.

Surprised, Aizen let go of Grimmjow's half-ripped mask and flash stepped to get away. At the same time, Urahara drew Benihime and shunpoed, landing right where Aizen was about to land. And swung.

Seeing the blade fall and unable to flash step again, Aizen only had one choice remaining.

He dropped Grimmjow, who crumpled immediately without support, and drew his zanpakuto, blocking Urahara's slash and raising his leg to counter Yoruichi's kick. He then flash stepped again and appeared a little further away, sheathing his sword. A Garganta opened immediately for him as he snapped his fingers.

"Well, it's been fun, but you'll have to excuse me for the moment as I must take my leave." He smirked and calmly stepped into the portal, disappearing as suddenly as he came.

There was a small silence, and then Ulquiorra sheathed Murciélago, immediately running and kneeling next to Grimmjow who was still lying motionless on the dirt path in the middle of the field.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Waaah, everything's happening so fast Q_Q Not my fault, I'm just not very talented at writing action scenes xD**

**I had to research the effects of a ripped off mask. Apparently, Arrancars who have their masks ripped off revert to the shape they had even before they became Gillians. Think of Pesche and Dondochakka, if you like. Those two had their masks ripped off and replaced them with some worthless other fake mask to cover their disfigured face.**

**Then again, we can't have Grimmy's sexy little face disfigured, can we? ;D**

**Ah, Ulquiorra, so sensitive to black cats who suddenly transform into hot naked women out of the blue like that. Hmmm... Maybe that wasn't the best of examples O_O"**

**Grimmy likes kitties and so do I. That's why he was torturing a street cat at the beginning of the chapter. So now that the cat's still up in the tree, who's gonna save it? D: Actually, that cat's a little reference to Grimmjow in the anime. He was hurt and almost dead (although the kitty was just scared out of its wits O_O") and then just left there to die. Kay, so who saved him in the end? Did he die? D: Hope not, GRIMMJOW'S NOT DEAD, PEOPLE. That's Kubo's style. People you thought were dead come back on a moment's notice (look at Ichigo for example -.-") so unless Kubo-sama announces the death very obviously, the char's not dead. Grimmy's just forgotten, that's all. LOVE YOU GRIMMJOW~**

**Alright then, I'm off. Thanks a bunch for standing by my side so far, hopefully you'll keep reading till the end (: It would also brighten my day a whole lot more if you reviewed, because as you probably already know, reviews make me ecstasic. That is all.**

**LOVE YA ALL, SEEYA NEXT CHAPTER, PLEASE REVIEW FOR GRIMMJOW'S SAKE D:**


	6. 5: Fake

**Author's Notes:**

**YEHHH~ UPDATE!**

**Kay, so I have been delaying this forever. Procrastination powahh~ I started this yesterday night and finished a couple of minutes before writing this very sentence. So... you can imagine that you could have gotten this chapter much earlier if I hadn't been such a procrastinating bitch? ^^;**

**In my defence, I've actually been STUDYING for my math exam Monday. Wish me luck, I understand the stuff I'm supposed to know, but I can't stop panicking cause math is definetely NOT my forte ):**

**Also, thank you to Nightcore for distracting me during my writing. Thank you to Death Note for grasping all my attention during the last week. And Kuroshitsuji for having such a sexy sexy demon in it ;D (I do not like Ciel, by the way. Spoiled brat.)**

**L Lawliet will live on forever~**

**Yeah, back to the subject. I'd like to thank all my lovely reviewers, as accustomary, and here is the list of all the awesome people who were kind enough to leave me a thought or two (: So big thanks to Yamapikarya, Kakushi Miko, Katakanion, Tifalochrt, CoolGirl150, Sblack13 and TTfanTT for the amazing reviews (: Couldn't do this without you guys, honestly ^^**

**Alright then, without further ado, HERE'S CHAPTER 5!**

**Warning: Chapter contains swearing, lots of OOC-ness, light Orihime-bashing and light sexual content.**

**ENJOY~**

* * *

"Oi Grimmjow." Ulquiorra poked Grimmjow in the shoulder, watching as all he got as a response was a terrified gasp. Grimmjow was breathing heavily, harshly, his breaths rasping. His eyes were wide and unfocused, practically bulging out of their sockets, and he was lying down unmoving. Dried tear tracks were easily visible on his cheeks.

"Ah, this is a problem." Urahara sighed, sheathing Benihime calmly and stepping up next to Grimmjow's unmoving body.

"You think?" Ichigo growled, quickly kneeling next to the blue-haired Espada and checking his pulse. Erratic and dangerously fast.

"We should get him inside so I can fix his mask back on." Ulquiorra suddenly said, darkly looking around.

"You know how to fix him?" a light lit up in the youngest teen's eyes, a light of hope.

"Yes, but we must hurry."

"Fine." The blond shinigami sighed and lifted his green and white hate a little to scratch his head. "Bring him over to my place."

"Oh, I intended to." The Cuatra simply replied. "Your house is full of reiatsu and it'll help Grimmjow heal faster. Also, yours has more space to work than any other house." He bent down and gently turned Grimmjow on his back. Although still conscious, he wasn't very responsive, which lightly worried the Arrancar. Just how much internal damage had been done?

"Alright, I'll set up a workplace for ya. Seeya later!" Urahara grinned cheerfully, and with a wave, flash stepped out of sight.

"Do you need me here, Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked, stepping next to the teen.

"We can manage on our own." The orange-haired boy decided.

"Alright. Later." The woman nodded, and without even making a move, shunpoed away.

"Alright... Now..." Ulquiorra sighed. "Let's get him to Urahara-san's house without getting people to notice..."

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

The silence was broken with the sound of sliding sheets. In a half-daze, Ichigo snapped out and whipped his head towards the black-haired Arrancar, who slid up the bed sheets up to Grimmjow's chin and sighed.

"You done?" the orange-haired teen yawned, stretching.

"Yes. I have successfully replaced the mask in its original position and now, all his body has to do is regulate its activity and decrease that fever, and as soon as his reiatsu starts flowing again, the mask will reattach itself to his body." The Espada nodded, rubbing his back in pain.

"Hey, you've been at this for about four hours. Lie down a little, you look exhausted. Besides, a little more sleep than usual will do you good." Ichigo decided.

"Ichigo, I'm a Hollow, Hollows do not have the same trivial needs as humans, therefore-"

"Yet you are an Arrancar and share various traits with human, which includes your need for sleep, especially after having spent so much energy and effort on healing Grimmjow." Ichigo interrupted calmly.

Green eyes gazed at Ichigo's delicate face, analysing the expression. Ulquiorra finally sighed and yawned.

"Alright."

"Well, I'm going to the adjacent room cause there isn't enough space for all three of us here, so if you need me for anything..." the Shinigami got up and stretched. "I'll be sleeping."

The Espada watched him leave, and as soon as the door slid shut, he groaned in weariness and dropped on the bedroll next to Grimmjow's.

"You'd better wake up soon, Grimmjow." He muttered to his wounded companion before shutting his eyes tiredly. "You'd better live to smile again..."

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

"_H-Hey, what's going on?"_

"_Why, nothing in particular, really."_

"_Any reason why the lights are off then?"_

"_Not really. I just think it fit the mood..."_

"_Where are you? Show yourself, you coward!"_

"_Coward? You're the one shivering, my dear Espada."_

"_S-Shut up! And let me go! Why am I here anyway?"_

"_I have... business with you."_

"_H-Hey! Wait! What are you- STOP!"_

Gasp.

His upper body immediately shot upwards, letting him get up, clutching his sheets until his fingers were white.

He stared at the wall in front of him, slightly disoriented. Still trying to calm his breathing down to a normal pace, cold sweat accumulating on his temples, he tried to figure out where he was.

It was night, that's for sure. But the room was unfamiliar to him, so he panicked for a second until something moved next to him.

His eyes snapped to the person lying next to him and he relaxed slightly when he recognized Ulquiorra's small frame, peacefully sleeping with his back against him, hair spread on the pillow and sheets hugging his curled up form.

"Oi Ulquiorra." He called, desperate to hear a human voice. All he got in response was slight, monotonous breathing coming from the older Espada sleeping next to his bedroll.

Grimmjow sighed, flicking some stray strands of hair from his face. How in hell could Ulquiorra sleep so peacefully?

"Ulquiorra..." he whispered again, not receiving any more answers than last time he called him.

What time was it? How long had he been out? And more importantly, _where_ was he?

His eyes fell to the clock hung on the wall facing him, and he squinted in the darkness to read the time. Two in the morning. Last time he checked, it was noon. Not that long ago.

Then again, he had no idea if he'd been out for days, or just hours. Maybe it had even been weeks. Recovering from a traumatic injury like that took long enough, so he wouldn't be surprised if he learned he'd been sleeping for over a week.

Not knowing made him crazy.

He was just about to call again and shake his fellow Arrancar awake when the door gently slid open. Whipping around immediately, he watched in awe as the tall, well-built form of a man stepped through the threshold. His eyes were drawn to the bright orange tuff on his head, darkened by the absence of light.

Ichigo stumbled to his side and dropped on his large bedroll.

"With all that noise you're making, you're gonna wake up everyone in the household. Shut up and get some sleep." He yawned, making himself comfortable in Grimmjow's bed.

Grimmjow blinked once, twice and then slowly reached out to poke Ichigo. All of this was ethereal. Didn't he just escape the worst of tortures? How could he still be here after all this? Was Ichigo real? Were both he and Ulquiorra just figments of his imagination?

No... No... Couldn't be... His finger slowly made a small crater in Ichigo's skin, and he watched in fascination as the hot skin beneath his touch reacted to the pressure being put on it.

So he wasn't hallucinating.

Cheeks burning in shame, he turned away from Ichigo and pulled his legs up to his chest, wondering why everything felt so surreal to him.

Ichigo hadn't reacted, so the Sexta figured he had already fallen asleep.

Steeling his resolve, he sighed and pushed his covers off of him, getting up on his wobbly legs, confirming the theory of having been out of a couple of days as he stumbled out of his sleeping area, then out the door, leaving Ichigo and Ulquiorra to their well-deserved sleep.

He wandered out into the hall and after spotting a staircase, decided to explore some more. He quietly snuck down the stairs and finally realized where he was when he arrived in the middle of an unlit candy shop.

He was in that Urahara person's shop.

Idly wondering what the hell he was doing there in the first place, his eyes fell to a trap in the floorboards, barely visible with the absence of light. The secret underground training cave place.

Without even thinking, he found himself heading for the trap and gripped the handle, lifting it. His eyes fell to the darkness practically pouring out of the trap and he wondered if it was dark down there too.

Guessing he'd just have to find out, he stepped on the first level of the ladder and started climbing down.

As soon as he took a few more steps, though, the world brightened, dizzying him. He had to let go of one hand to shield his eyes and groan as the bright light hit his unaccustomed eyes.

Guess not.

He waited a while, just hanging there, until his eyes got used to the brightness, and he started making his way down the ladder again. Halfway there, his vision finally returned to normal, so he simply jumped the rest of the way down.

His feet contacted with the ground with a light _thud_, and he turned around, gazing at the endless world in front of him.

Training area, huh?

His gaze lowered to his left hand, and he slowly raised it to his face and suddenly bit the center of his palm, his sharp teeth digging into his skin. Blood welled up from the deep puncture and immediately started flowing on his upturned hand as soon as he let go. Almost on reflex after seeing the blood, his hand rose up, pointed towards a rock in the distance.

It'd been a long time since he'd had a decent fight.

All these losses had been making him weaker, rusty and incapable of doing anything constructive.

All because of Aizen.

Anger and disappointment bubbled up within him. A light glow started appearing in the palm of his hand, taking the form of a small ball.

The memory of Aizen holding him like that, making him powerless and weak, it made his blood boil.

The small ball started crackling with reiatsu, getting bigger and bigger.

He hated him. He hated him so bad, for everything he'd done and hadn't done. He resented every last bit of him, from that mocking smirk to that sadistic look in his eyes. From the way he pretended to care to the way he looked down on the Espada. And how he dared to call them his. He hated him with his entire body, mind and soul.

The light blue glow gained power and grew bigger, now bigger than him, blinding him with a bright teal light that was even harsher than the fake sun shining on the dome of the training cave.

"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!" a fierce snarl ripped his usually handsome face in half as he grabbed his firing arm with his free arm to steady the powerful blast that would follow.

Aizen's familiar, hated smirk appeared in his mind. Even in the safety of his mind, he was present. Even in the only sanctuary he had left, he was there, torturing him, paining him, ripping him apart in every way possible.

In a way, he only wanted the pain to stop. The pain in his heart. It made him wanna tear open his own chest and rip out the goddamn organ and crush it to pieces just to end the pain. Anything to get the pain to stop. Anything to get Aizen out of his life.

"Get out of my HEAD!" he finally roared releasing all the pent up reiatsu as well as the anger, fear, pain and sadness in his heart. "Gran Rey Cero!"

A large blue light engulfed his vision for a second, and then the huge cero shot out, spiralling lightly as it headed for the rock in the distance for which the Espada was aiming for.

He simply watched in morbid fascination as his most powerful cero headed for the worthless piece of landscape and blew it up immediately on impact. All the energy put behind that last cero was released as an earthquake shook the ground under his feet, demolishing everything within a three-mile radius of the rock he'd aimed for. He even felt some of his own reiatsu brush past him, a cold feeling washing over him as he slowly dropped his hand.

How delightful it'd be to see Aizen break down like that.

How delightful it'd be to see him crumble and fall, just like that rock.

The image replayed itself in his mind over and over again, and a small smirk appeared gradually on Grimmjow's face, extending and extending until it was a huge evil grin.

And he laughed.

He laughed with no intention of stopping, releasing all the madness whirling in his ecstatic brain. The beautiful image of Aizen lying on the cold, unforgiving ground, his own blood staining his usually oh-so sarcastic face made his heart stop and his skin crawl in pleasure.

What he'd give to see that image come true.

All he'd give...

All he had left to give...

He had no material possessions and it wasn't like he had any personal values or elements he hadn't lost already.

No, all he had left was himself.

Then if that was what it took to defeat Aizen...

He'd put his entire being on the line, let his fear die and abuse his body until he could push his limits forward.

That's what it meant to be strong.

No matter how much pain came with it, he'd take it. He'd tackle everything that was thrown at him with everything he had...

Because without pain, there is no strength to go by. True strength is the power needed to surpass that pain. And he was sure that somewhere deep inside, he had all the power he could ever want.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

Ichigo woke up to the sunlight pouring in from the window above him, hitting his face directly. He groaned and got up, stretching, and finally realising where he was.

Why was he in Grimmjow's bed?

Oh right, he'd come to crash here last night after being woken up by Grimmjow's incessant calls for Ulquiorra.

Grimmjow!

His head immediately turned to the empty sheets next to him and he gasped. The Espada was in no position to be up and about already. It had only been 2 days since Aizen had assaulted him and he was sure that the Arrancar would start pushing himself harder now that he realized he was vulnerable.

Sighing, Ichigo stretched a little more and started walking towards the door when his eyes fell on Ulquiorra. The Arrancar was half-asleep, his eyes half-lidded and staring blankly at the ceiling, probably lost in an early-morning daze or deep thoughts.

In any case, he probably wouldn't like being left alone, so Ichigo decided to nudge him with his big toe. As soon as his foot touched Ulquiorra's shoulder, the latter jumped right out of bed, gasping.

The teen simply looked down, curious and somewhat worried as the Ex-Espada calmed his breathing and looked up at him.

"Ichigo...?"

"Yeah, good morning to you too. If you want, I'm planning to go get breakfast, so you can tag along. Of course, you'd need to get dressed in the clothes I brought you last night. Also, Grimmjow's gone."

It took a second for all the information to sink in, and finally, Ulquiorra sighed.

"He's probably downstairs in that cave place we went in before Aizen ambushed us. Practicing, getting his reiatsu to flow again, probably destroying things in general." He pushed himself to his feet and stretched. "Alright, so where did you leave my clothes again?"

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

After getting dressed, both teens headed down the staircase, ending up in the candy store. The door behind the shop was open, showing Urahara, Tessai, Jinta and Ururu sitting around a table, eating breakfast.

"Oiiii, Ichigo!" Urahara called with a huge smile as he saw the teen walk by. "Won't you join us for breakfast?"

"Not if you're the one inviting." Ichigo brushed him off, knowing the antics of the older shinigami. He'd probably demand a service later on if he accepted.

"Now that was mean, Ichi..." Urahara pretended to sob, and Ulquiorra wondered once again what was wrong with all the adults he'd met. Even Ichigo's father had been like this. Was if common for human men to act like this?

"Yeah yeah." Ichigo sighed and opened the trap on the ground. "We're going downstairs." He informed them.

"Alrighty! Wish Grimmjow good morning for me! And tell him to close the trap next time cause it gets loud down there and people were trying to sleep up here." Urahara yelled back as Ulquiorra jumped into the void, Ichigo following, and pulling the trap shut behind them.

Completely ignoring the ladder, the two teens freefell towards the ground, watching in awe as a beautiful, huge cero exploded from a small blue dot in the distance. As they got closer and closer, the blue dot seemed to get bigger, until they landed.

That's when another blue came in, much brighter and much bigger, looking straight at them.

"Well, thank you for the warm welcome, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra groaned before Sonido-ing at a safe distance.

Ichigo simply realized what the blue glow was as soon as it shot out, making a weird noise, and heading straight for him.

A strangled cry tore from his throat as he dove to the side in the nick of time and rolled, miraculously untouched by the powerful cero.

"WHAT THE HELL GRIMMJOW?" he yelled, getting up and glaring the blue-haired figure that was advancing for them through the dust.

"Good morning to you too, Ichigo." The Ex-Espada snickered as he got close, watching as Ichigo scowled and dusted himself off. "Hey, I didn't see you there, okay?" he laughed as Ulquiorra appeared next to them just in time to witness Ichigo's murderous glare.

"Have you been up all night?" the Cuatra almost scolded as he glared disapprovingly at the light bruises on Grimmjow's face where flying rocks had probably hit him.

"No. Maybe. Yes." Grimmjow shrugged, making Ulquiorra sigh again.

"You know your reiatsu is too unstable for you to start abusing it like this. Get your rest a little longer and then-"

"Ulquiorra, please consider my feelings for a second." The Sexta cut in with a wistful smile on his face. "I just got owned by the biggest bastard in the whole wide world and you expect me to take it easy? Of course not! If I wanna beat him someday, I'll have to get stronger. No letting up on training just cause I'm supposedly still recovering." He huffed, shoving his hands in his jeans' pockets, mostly to hide the burns and lacerations on his palms caused by using the Gran Rey Cero too many times in succession.

He'd tried to control his ceros to aim better, but quickly getting bored, he'd decided to release his zanpakuto and get some training to control Desgarron better.

His only comment was the silent hope that somehow the landscape fixed itself soon so he could destroy it again.

"Alright then, you had your training, you've been up all night, right? Long enough. You're gonna be tired by two in the afternoon now, you know that?" Ichigo complained as he crossed his arms. "In any case, come upstairs and get dressed, we're going out for breakfast." He ordered, staring at the loose tank top and sweatpants the Espada was wearing.

"Yes mom." Grimmjow sighed amusedly and brushed past him, grabbing the ladder and starting his climb.

Ulquiorra sighed and followed, knowing very well that Grimmjow could have jumped halfway up the ladder but simply chose to waste time to irk Ichigo.

Ichigo did not seem to get it, though, as he growled in impatience and started climbing last.

The three got out of the trap with a few seconds of difference between each other and immediately headed up to their room. Urahara simply waved good morning to them as they walked by, Grimmjow smirking handsomely at the older man and raising a hand as a hello as went for the stairs.

He was... in a good mood today...

Once in their room, he quickly found a pile of neatly folded clothes on the table, recognizing them to be his.

Quickly stripping himself of his tank top, he grabbed the long-sleeved shirt and pulled it on. Once done, he shook his sweatpants off and quickly donned his jeans, not liking the way the cold air bit into the exposed skin of his legs. It was getting colder and colder, too, as winter got closer.

"Done?" Ulquiorra asked, startling him as he turned around.

"Hey, what're you here for? I'm not putting on a show, y'know." Grimmjow smirked. "Unless you want me to, that is." He smirked in amusement.

"Oh Grimmjow." Ulquiorra calmly pinched the bridge of his nose. "Grow up, will you?"

"That's like asking that Orihime girl to quit being such an annoying bitch." Grimmjow growled.

"Watch your language. Kurosaki won't be happy if he knew you mouthed off one of his friends." The Cuatra shrugged, although agreeing with Grimmjow. That human girl really got annoying after a while. He was just glad she hadn't been called up to heal them after they were found half-dead in that park not so long ago.

"I did hear." Ichigo's voice came from the adjacent room. "But I'll pretend I didn't." He smirked as he opened the door and walked inside, his things packed up and stuffed in his bag.

"Fuck off, Kurosaki." Grimmjow sighed, raising his hand towards Ichigo and flipping him off with a wild grin.

"Someone's happy today." Ichigo looked like he would say something else before Ulquiorra Sonido-ed, catching Grimmjow's extended hand and startling both teens.

"Grimmjow." He gave the hand a firm squeeze and pulling it down. "Your palms." He simply remarked, using both hands to pry open his companion's clutched fingers.

Grimmjow simply looked away in slightly shame as Ulquiorra stared at the deep punctures and lacerations on his hands, topped with the blazing burns caused by the ceros he'd been firing.

"You know." Ulquiorra tore his gaze from the injuries to glare at Grimmjow, who blushed and shrank under his gaze. "You didn't have to push yourself. You won't become stronger in just one night. Take it slowly. The less you hurt yourself, the faster your power will rise." He scolded, pushing the younger teenager to the ground and heading for the bathroom. "I'll get some bandages."

"I don't need help." Grimmjow muttered, hiding his palms once more.

"Shut up, Jaegerjacques." The Cuatra sighed as he came back, a roll of pure white bandages clutched in his hand. "Now gimme your hands."

"No!" Grimmjow protested stubbornly.

"Gimme." Ulquiorra repeated, getting down on his knees to reach Grimmjow's height.

"No!"

"Stop being such a baby."

"I don't need you, mom! I can bloody well take care of myself!"

"Obviously not."

"Yes I can!"

"Then why don't you? You keep hurting yourself like your health isn't important."

"I'm not a child anymore! Leave me alone!"

"You'd push yourself to the brink of death if I did that."

"I know my limits!"

"And yet you don't respect them."

"Of course I do. This is nothing at all."

"Oh shut up and let me bandage your hands."

Ichigo simply looked at the funny scene and tried not to snicker, watching at the Espada toppled one over the other, trying to restrain each other each for their own purposes. It warmed his heart in a way: watching the two fearsome Espada squabble over something as trivial as this. The worst part was... he never knew they could care... And yet, here they were, fighting to see who cared for the other the most.

Their argument ended when the Cuatra and Sexta came face-to-face, only a hair's length away from one another's face.

They both blushed, even more so when they realized their limbs were entangled with Ulquiorra's hand gripping Grimmjow's wrist by passing underneath the latter's left thigh and the Sexta's foot pushing down on the Cuatra's other hand. The ebony-haired male's foot was pushing against Grimmjow's shoulder in an effort to placate him on the wooden floor and the teal-eyed teen's knee was held up in the air because of Ulquiorra's arm.

An embarrassing position to say the least.

They both looked away from each other and blushed harder as they slowly let go of each other.

"That's good." Ulquiorra whispered gently as he grabbed one of Grimmjow's hands and started wrapping it up. Grimmjow simply watched in shame as someone helped him once again. Why? Why could he ever take care of himself?

"You know, it doesn't make you weak if you ask for help."

The teal-haired teen's eyes snapped to Ichigo, who was kindly looking down on the Ex-Espada with a wistful smile plastered on his face.

"It just means I can't help myself. And if that isn't the definition of weakness in itself, then I don't know what is." Grimmjow whispered back, holding his other hand out to Ulquiorra as the older Arrancar finished bandaging his right hand.

"No... Asking for help... Is a great strength... It means you trust the other person enough to confide in him and it means you have the courage to place your life in the palms of the other person's hands." Ichigo smiled wider, leaning against the doorframe.

Grimmjow turned his gaze to the ground, not finding a reply to that. He was relieved when Ulquiorra saved him from an awkward silence by announcing that his hands were done.

"Alright then, let's go! I'm starving." The youngest teenager between them finally pushed himself away from the doorjamb he was leaning on and headed for the door, opening it for them. "To the food!"

The three of them all but ran down, their stomachs rumbling in anticipation. They were just about to leave when Urahara suddenly shunpoed in front of them and spread his arms out, stopping them.

"What is it?" Ichigo scowled, putting his hands on his hips.

"I have a surprise for you." Urahara grinned, pointing at Tessai who came in, carrying two long wooden boxes, almost as big as Ichigo. "You can't leave without seeing what I got you two." The large man dropped the crates and dusted his hands off.

"A... Surprise?" Grimmjow raised a brow, staring at the crates intently as if trying to burn a hole in them to see what's inside.

"Yes, yes, come now, open your surprises!" the blonde invited them in a sing-song voice as he led them towards the wooden crates. As they got closer, they noticed that holes had been punctured into the front, just big enough to let a hand through.

The two stopped in front of the identical crates, staring uncertainly at each other.

"Go on, put a hand through the hole and touch what's inside!" Urahara encouraged them, stepping back and grinning madly as Ichigo watched in wonder. What was he planning to do? What was inside those crates?

"Alright then... If you say so..." Ulquiorra slowly brought his hand up and positioned it in front of the hole. He felt weird and sick just by looking at his hand positioned like that. Who knows what's inside... Was it alive? Why couldn't they see it entirely?

"Fine..." The Sexta uncertainly looked at Ulquiorra and put his hand up.

Without another word, they shoved their hands in.

For a moment, they simply stared at the wood, their fingers curling up around cloth. And suddenly...

With the sound of wind rushing through a crack, the two of them disappeared.

"What the- What the hell?" Ichigo immediately responded by jumping back. "What happened to them? What's in there? What did you do?" he demanded immediately, glaring at Urahara.

"Ma, ma, Ichigo-chan." Urahara laughed, putting up his cane. "Wait for the surprise, you'll see." He suddenly wedged his cane in the opening of the crate next to him, Ulquiorra's crate, and pushed. While the wooden cover fell down with a creaking noise, he did the same to Grimmjow's crate.

Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise as the contents were shown to him.

There was a heavy silence dangling in the air, Urahara nodding in approval and Ichigo gaping at the contents of the box.

And suddenly, the two people inside the crates stepped out, the sunlight illuminating their faces.

Ulquiorra winced and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling misbalanced and light-headed. What had he touched anyway?

Grimmjow also looked lost and felt wobbly on his legs, his vision blurring as he looked at Ulquiorra just as the same Espada turned to look at him.

The shock was so high it was almost tangible as it hovered in the air. The first one to speak was Ulquiorra.

"G-Grimmjow... Your mask, it-"

"Y-Yours too." The blue-haired teen uttered, shocked. What the hell was going on? "It's gone..."

"And your face tattoos, they're gone too!"

"Yeah, the green lines under your eyes have faded as well..."

"What about...?" the Cuatra's hand flew to his chest, and he touched his left chest for a while, his eyes widening. He suddenly lunged for Grimmjow's stomach and poked him square above the belly button, surprised.

"Ow!" said Espada growled, clutching his stomach. "What was that for?"

Ulquiorra cocked his head and looked up at him, as if saying _'didn't you realize it yet?_'.

And as if enlightened, the Ex-Espada turned around simultaneously to Urahara, who was grinning madly, obviously pleased.

"Gigai?" Ulquiorra asked first, flexing and opening his fingers to adjust himself to his new fake body.

"Yup, yup!" the older shinigami laughed. "Aren't I nice? I got you two some nice gigai bodies so that you can go around without people staring at your masks or without being afraid of letting your Hollow Holes show."

"W-Whoa, this feels weird..." the Sexta raised a hand and caressed his cheek where his mask used to stand. He'd never been in a gigai before... It felt entirely new to him.

"Ma, ma, look here, the surprise isn't finished yet!" the shinigami laughed, putting his hand in his pockets.

The Ex-Espada froze in anticipation and slight fear of what they had yet to receive. Their question was answered when Urahara pulled out two long candy dispensers. Ichigo visibly froze in his corner, recognizing the items.

"This is what you'll use to get out of your gigai and into your Hollow forms, if need to fight ever arises." The blonde threw one of the dispensers at each of them, and they both caught one with a delayed, yet precise move, their new bodies obviously not responding completely to their brains' stimuli. "Try one."

Each of them popped one candy out and stared at the small green spherical candy and threw it in their mouths.

A strange pulling feeling overcame their bodies once they swallowed the small pills, and they were thrust back once against, stumbling as they came out, dressed once more in their Espada uniforms, masks attached and holes as empty as before. The familiar weight of their zanpakuto strapped around their waists unbalanced them and they had to get a hold of the crates to keep standing.

"Don't worry, you won't feel dizzy while changing back and from your gigai bodies after a while. It just takes getting used to." The shinigami told them, but they disregarded him as the most unusual sight ever grasped their attention.

The sight of their gigai bodies moving on their own, turning around to meet their eyes.

Ulquiorra's gigai suddenly broke out in an evil grin and Grimmjow's gigai frowned, tears massing in the corners of his shimmering blue eyes.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Gigai-Ulquiorra grinned, ruffling gigai-Grimmjow's hair. The latter just whimpered and retreated into the nearest corner, curling up and watching as Ulquiorra's gigai walked towards him, the same grin plastered on his face.

The real Espada simply gaped in astonishment and looked at each other, turning immediately to Urahara, who was still grinning and fanning himself with his fan.

"Those are Mod Souls. Fake souls that are implanted within a gigai when the used leaves the body to give them a temporary means of movement if they ever need to escape from a battle scene or something. It is to prevent the gigai from being damaged by being left alone." He explained cheerfully, watching in glee as gigai-Ulquiorra smothered gigai-Grimmjow.

"Oi, U-Ulquiorra-sama, t-that doesn't go there!"

"Oh hush Grimmjow-chan, you know you like it..."

"Okay, wait." Ulquiorra snapped out of his gaze, blushing as he heard what his Mod Soul had said. "So _my_ Mod Soul is a _rapist_? What the hell is up with that?"

"Yeah!" Grimmjow's blush rose to match with his companion's as his Mod Soul screamed something that closely resembled to '_please stop~_'. "And _my_ Mod Soul is a _bitch_?"

"Well, the correct word would be uke..."

"Ow! Ulquiorra-sama, that hurts~"

"Relax Grimmy-chan, it'll only hurt for a second."

"But yes, the vulgar term is bitch." Urahara seemed to find it amusing since he covered his snicker with his fan.

Unfortunately, Ichigo wasn't as lucky as to have a fan, so he simply turned towards the wall and started laughing as quietly as possible, his lithe frame shuddering with every laugh.

"What are you laughing at, Kurosaki?" the two Espada turned around and glared at him at the same time, watching as Ichigo released his hold and started laughing in a higher voice.

"N-Nothing, nothing at all! It's just that if this goes on, you might assist to some disturbing scenes." He laughed, tears rolling freely down his flushed cheeks.

The Ex-Espada blushed harder and looked at each other, worry clear in their eyes. They had to stop them. The Mod Souls had already gone far enough. The memories had to stop flashing back to them.

"How do we get back into our gigai?" Grimmjow turned around immediately, glaring daggers at Urahara. Ulquiorra simply looked at the ground, a light frown decorating his pale face.

"Oh, just touch them, and you'll be sucked back in. That explains how you got into them in the first place."

"Alright." Grimmjow turned back to the two gigai struggling in the corner, and resisting the urge to blush, he started running towards them.

Gigai-Ulquiorra seemed to notice only when a shadow loomed over them, followed by a second shadow.

The two Mod-Souls shrank in fear as the real Espada towered above them, their faces hidden by the shadows, but sadistic gleams in their eyes.

"No!" Gigai-Ulquiorra screamed. "I won't let you take my Grimmy-chan from me!" he screamed, holding gigai-Grimmjow tighter.

"Game over." Ulquiorra simply sighed in relief and jumped on the gigai, watching its horrified face in satisfaction as he was pulled back into the fake body.

Grimmjow followed his lead, bending down and touching his gigai, who was looking up at him, shivering in fear and on the border of crying.

The two were pulled back in, and sighed once they felt lighter. Both opened their eyes at the same time, though, and realized their positions.

Ulquiorra was standing over Grimmjow, sitting on his lap while one of his hands trailed under his shirt and grabbed his waist, the other holding his partner's hands above his head. Grimmjow was leaned against the corner, one of his knees bent to try and throw Ulquiorra off and the other leg helplessly pinned down by Ulquiorra's body as his arms were secured against the wall.

It only took them a second to scramble away from each other, turning a deep-tomato red and shuddering. Nope, these Mod Souls were definitely not made for them.

"Oi, baka!" Grimmjow was the first to get up and point accusingly at Urahara. "Give us something else! These Mod Souls are stupid!"

Urahara sighed and shrugged.

"Guess I have no choice. Here, take these. They're both the calm and collected teenager type of Mod-Souls." He dug into his pocket and threw them a second pair of candy dispensers, one of which Grimmjow caught, and the other of which landed next to Ulquiorra, who looked up from his curled up position to spot it lying next to him.

The two of them made sure to grab the new ones, and angrily threw the old ones back at Urahara, who was too busy chuckling to notice and who received them straight in the forehead, making him topple and fall.

"Alrighty then..." Ichigo grinned once more and headed for the front door. "Let's go eat now. All this funny stuff has gotten me even hungrier." He poked his head back in, staring at the two Espada. "You coming?"

Grimmjow nodded and walked towards Ulquiorra, stopping next to him and putting his hand out for him to take.

"Let's go." He smiled lightly, watching as Ulquiorra scanned his eyes for a moment, then grabbed his hand to get up.

"Right." He simply forced a small smile and dusted himself off. Good enough for the Sexta as he turned around, dropped his smile, and ran for the door.

Food sounded extremely appealing all of a sudden.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Yes, food DOES sound appealing. Although I did just eat a few hours ago :/ Meh, I'll eat later -.-"**

**Well then, does anyone here present hate me for inserting humorous sexual content in this chapter? Yes? I'm sorry then. You can hit me. It won't happen again. No, seriously, it won't. I'm not good at this so I'll veer away from dark sexual humour and go for dark... dark humour xD**

**Yep, yep, dilemmas. They're everywhere. Thankfully for Grimmy, Ulqui and Ichi, they'll have time to mull over their dilemmas as I'll probably be procrastinating again xD**

**Also, I want to write a Death Note fic. And an Ouran High School Host Club oneshot. Someone stab me. I CANNOT start another story without finishing the three I have started right now -.-"**

**Also, a little note on those Mod Souls. I made Ulquiorra the seme cause everyone always regards Grimmjow as seme. I do too. I just figured it'd be funny to switch places (:**

**This chapter was originally supposed to be longer, at least double the size of the current one (which is still big, about 6k words O:) but I figured I might as well cut it in half and get you guys an earlier update.**

**Aaaand... The "read between the lines" thing from chapter 2 applies here too. Actually, it applies in every chapter. Pretty much. It's cool, I have 2 stories in one :D**

**Anyways, I'll stop talking now and kindly ask yeh to review. Did you know I FEED on reviews? Yes yes yes, I do (: Come on, is just one comment that much of a hassle? D: Even just a "good job" or "you suck" will do the trick, I just wanna know that people are reading this Q_Q**

**Kay, so REVIEW PLEASE~**

**No really, do it.**

**Don't make me send Ulquiorra's Mod Soul after you.**


	7. 6: A Taste of Being Human

**Author's Notes:**

**I have alibis!**

**I had a whole bunch of exams (and actually, I still do :/), I was sick (and actually, I still am xD), I had a bunch of other work to do and first concentrated on finishing my Naruto story (IT'S DONE! With over 300 reviews, too ^^) and yeah, life's harsh :/**

**Guess whose birthday today is... ULQUIORRAAAAAA! Happy birthday, Ulqui-chan, love youuu :D**

**So thanks a bunch to Hotaru-Jaegerjacquez, COOL ULQUIGRIMM FANFIC. LOVER, summerrayah, Razzer, Kakushi Miko, X3 Too lazy to log in, Yamapikarya, Katakanion, deadpoolhulk, CoolGirl150, TTfanTT, sblack13, KamiKari519 and .lolcatsrule. FOR ALL THEIR PRECIOUS REVIEWS! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT, GUYS AND GALS (:**

**Ah, and by the way, X3 Too Lazy to log in? xD Of course I'll write more, as long as I have fans like you who are... ready to... send rabid squirrels to... rip my face off O_O" Okay, forget I said anything xD As for the seeing issue, I believe the Arrancar are visible since Aizen was the one covering them first (for the sake of the story, come on xD) so now they're visible, yey. And for the food, yeah, I know, but apparently, according to Gin Ichimaru (flashbaaaaack), whoever has reiatsu feels hunger. So technically, seeing as they're Espada, they have reiatsu, and get hungry. The end~ Thanks for the nice review (:**

**SO yep, yep, enjoy. **

**

* * *

**"So boys, care for breakfast this morning?"

A plate of delicious-looking eggs and smoking bacon was shoved in front of the Arrancars' faces as soon as they stepped down the last step on the stairs. Their gigais' stomachs rumbled as the sight and smell of food, but Urahara's mischievous grin reminded them that there would be consequences if they ever dared to accept.

"No thanks, Kisuke-san." Grimmjow growled, pushing the plate away and stepping down. The two reached the front door and grabbed their bags, packed with all the clothes they'd used for the last week and pulled on their shoes.

"Leaving so soon?" Urahara pouted.

"Yep, sorry, you won't find any reasons to pull any favours out of us." The blue-haired Espada chuckled as he pried open the front door. "But thanks again for that training cave place of yours. We'll be back soon to use it. Till then." He waved his hand and exited.

"Yes, thank you Urahara-san." Ulquiorra bowed. "Without your help, I could never have saved Grimmjow."

"No problem!" Urahara laughed joyfully. "Besides." His face darkened although his ever-present smirk remained plastered across his face. "We can't haul a corpse over to Soul Society, right?"

The Ex-Espada shuddered and turned around, nodding.

"How many days left?" he whispered worriedly, feeling a knot clench in his stomach. His eyes wandered to Grimmjow, who was arguing with Ichigo, who had come to pick them up before going to school. He had no idea how much time had passed. Maybe it was for the best. Grimmjow had a violent and impulsive character by nature, mask or no mask, and counting down the days would have made him antsy.

"Not long." Urahara whispered back before pushing him out. "Alright then, go have fun and enjoy all the time you have left!"

"Morbid wishes." Ulquiorra sighed and waved before shoving a hand in his pocket and headed for Ichigo.

"Morning, Ulquiorra." Ichigo greeted as he joined them.

"Good morning Ichigo." Ulquiorra made a light effort to twitch the corners of his mouth up.

"Alright, so what are we doing today?" Grimmjow asked right off the bat, already bored.

"I'm going to school, seeing as our break week is over, but you two are free to go around and do whatever you like. Just don't get lost." The youngest teen shrugged.

"School?" Grimmjow wondered out loud. "Sounds boring."

"It is." Ichigo chuckled. "But I can't be just a substitute shinigami all my life. I have to get a permanent job soon and the only way to do that is complete my studies at school."

"Ah, life's so much easier when you're dead." The Sexta snickered.

"Contradictory claim." Ulquiorra commented.

"Ah, whatever."

"Alright, I'll be late if I keep chitchatting like this. If you want, you can come with me till I get to school and then you can leave to do whatever you like." Ichigo suggested calmly.

"Alright, let's go, it's not like we have anything better to do." The blue-haired Espada shrugged.

The walk to school was punctuated by a dreadful silence. None of them spoke, simply listening to cars pass by or kids walking to school, talking about how they spent their last week.

They only spoke once stopping in front of the school gate.

"Well, you're not allowed past this point, so, uhh... Run along now." Ichigo's bored look said everything.

"Ah, I'm sure we're just gonna get bored and go crash in your room or something." Grimmjow sighed. "There's nothing to destroy in this town..."

"Grimmjow, please try and refrain from destroying anything while I'm gone." Ichigo winced bemusedly as all three of them chuckled.

"HEY ICHIGO!"

All three of them suddenly turned to see Rukia and Renji arriving in school uniforms, waving.

"Hey boys!" Rukia greeted as soon as she stopped next to them.

"Morning." Ichigo greeted, looking annoyed. "Why are you still here?"

"Figured I'd stay a bit and go back to Soul Society with you three." She shrugged, making Ulquiorra wince and Grimmjow freeze.

That's right, he'd almost forgotten they'd have to go to Soul Society very soon. How many days did he have left? Not a lot, huh?

"Ah, you two better leave soon." Renji piped in. "I can see Orihime and Ishida coming, and I'm sure they'd recognize you without a second glance if they saw you."

Five pairs of eyes snapped to the duo of people talking as they came out the school doors, noticing Ichigo almost immediately.

"You're right, we should make ourselves scarce." Ulquiorra decided, wincing when the girl didn't recognize them and simply waved, running.

"For once, I have no objections." Grimmjow growled, turning away from Orihime. "Let's go."

"Seeya after school, Ichigo." The Cuatra added before the two Ex-Espada ran off into the street.

"Kay, so what now?" Grimmjow asked as soon as they were out of eyesight.

"I think we should go drop off our bags at Ichigo's house and see what we can do from there." Ulquiorra nodded.

"Ah, this town is boring." The Sexta complained.

"I'd be more inclined to say it's peaceful." The Cuatra shrugged. "Unlike Las Noches, or any of Hueco Mundo, in fact."

"But there were people there..." Grimmjow's eyes darkened. "And we all knew each other and lived with each other... We had our own inside jokes, we fought all the time, and we understood each other..." nostalgia was clearly written all over his face. "But here, everyone's so distant..." he watched as a girl with her music from her music player blasting loud in her ears passed by, completely ignoring them.

"I understand, but this is the world we have to get used to now..." Ulquiorra encouraged him as they turned the corner that led to Ichigo's house.

"I know, I just..." He shook his head and suddenly chuckled. "Who am I kidding? This is what happens when you get attached to someone. What's happened to the bloodthirsty Sexta Espada who ripped people's arms off and beat them with it? What happened to Grimmjow Jaegerjacques, the violent, sadistic psycho who enjoyed hearing people scream in pain and cower in fear? What's happened to me?" his laughter slowly died down until he was left staring at the ground, kicking a few random stones.

"Isn't it for the best?" Ulquiorra whispered with a light smile. "Think about it. You might not be as violent as before, but you finally have a chance at life. Isn't that a worthy cost?"

Grimmjow thought for a moment, and sighed as they entered the Kurosaki premises.

"I guess. I still expect to get stronger though. Imma kick Aizen-bastard's ass one day for everything he's made us go through, so I can't just lie around and pretend my world is changing." He grabbed the front doorknob and twisted, opening the door and walking inside.

"You know... The world always changes around us but weakness will always remain. Through all the pain, believe in who we are right here and now... That's all you need to believe in." The Cuatra raised a pale, bony hand and settled in comfortably on Grimmjow's shoulder, getting him to stiffen. "Besides, we promised. No more pretending."

If the Sexta wanted to reply, he didn't have the chance because the voices of two little girls laughing reached their ears, thudding footsteps rushing down the stairs. Almost instantly, two little girls ran into their view, the black haired one chasing the blond.

The black-haired one was wearing a red cap and a t-shirt with jeans shorts and white socks. The blond was wearing a yellow dress and no shoes nor socks. Both of them, looking around ten years old, were screaming in joy as they chased each other.

The Ex-Espada recognized them as Ichigo's little sisters.

The blonde one was the first to stop as the black-haired one toppled over her, dragging them to the floor.

"Karin!" she laughed, getting up and helping her sister up. "Be polite in front of our guests!"

"Ah, it's fine." Grimmjow muttered, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, we haven't introduced each other yet! It's crucial if you'll be staying with us." The blond laughed and bowed. "My name's Yuzu!"

"I'm Karin." The black-haired one raised a brow at Grimmjow's blue hair. "What's your name, blue-head?"

"Blue-head?" a vein thudded in Grimmjow's temple.

"Calm down, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Grimmjow, huh? How about you, emo-kun?" Karin asked with a smirk.

"Emo-kun?" Ulquiorra gaped in anger and horror as the girl laughed.

"Calm down, Ulquiorra." Grimmjow laughed, mimicking his previous gesture.

"Ah, well this is swell!" Yuzu laughed and clapped. "Karin and I don't have any school today so we can help you get installed!" she ran for the stairs. "Come on!"

Karin ran up after her, motioning for the two Espada to follow.

All four of them made it to the top floor and headed for Ichigo's room, hearing Yuzu pushing and pulling things already. When they got there, they noticed the blond had pushed the desk further against the corner so that more space was open for mattresses.

"You two can sleep here." She sighed, pointing at the rearranged mattresses. "I'll wash some extra sheets and get you some pillows a little later in the afternoon. I'm sorry this is the best we have to offer, but we don't have any guest rooms." She laughed cutely, a slight blush adorning her porcelain face.

"Ah, it's uhh... okay..." The Espada fumbled around nervously, embarrassed that the little girl was doing so much for them.

"Ah, you two, you can put your clothes in here, too." Karin called from the wardrobe, dusting off a shelf. "Just make sure to keep it organized cause we ain't cleaning." She ranted.

The two Espada nodded and let their bags drop, opening them to pull out their clothes when Yuzu screamed in horror.

"Are those... dirty clothes?" she panted, almost hysterical.

"Y-Yeah, we've been at a friend's house for over a week now and he didn't have any washing machines..." the Sexta blinked, surprised.

"Oh dear!" the little girl gasped and ran for the wardrobe, pulling out a white plastic basket. "Here, drop everything in here, and I'll do the laundry right away!" she ordered.

"Y-Yes ma'am." The two Espada, shocked, nodded and dropped all their dirty clothing into the basket.

"Ah yes, I do believe you've never actually explored around here, so come with me, I'll show you around." The blond laughed and lifted the heavy basket in her arms, going for the door.

"T-That looks heavy, want me to take it for you?" Ulquiorra suggested with a soft blush.

"Of course not, I'm a grown woman, I can lift a laundry basket on my own!" Yuzu scoffed and left the room, leaving the Arrancars shocked and speechless.

What a weird family they'd stumbled into.

"The top floor is where the bedrooms are. The bathroom's at the end of the hall. My room is on the right to the staircase, and Karin's is on the left. Dad's room is next to the bathroom, facing yours and Ichi-nii's." She explained, walking down the staircase with the Espada and her sister walking right after her.

They ended up in the main lobby, still brightly lit.

"Facing the lobby, we have the living room, where we have the couches, TV, piano and video games." Karin picked up the tour guide duty. "Right next to it is the small dining area, adjacent to which is the kitchen. The door at the back of the living room leads to the Kurosaki clinic."

"And this is where you do the laundry." Yuzu opened a closet and popped the lid on a curious white machine and threw all their clothes inside. The Hollows watched, amused and curious, as Yuzu put white powder inside and slammed the lid shut, pushing a button. The machine instantly came to life, making weird noises. "And there you go! That's how you do your laundry!" she grinned proudly.

"Interesting contraption..." Ulquiorra nodded, curiously watching as the clothes spun inside, covered in white bubbles.

"Wait, don't tell me you've never seen a washing machine before." Karin groaned in desperation. "Ichi-nii warned us you were from a third-world country, but I didn't think your village was THAT retarded..."

"No, no, the village isn't retarded." Grimmjow raised a brow at her tomboyish attitude, the complete opposite of her sweet little sister. "But its leader is. Big time." He sighed, Aizen's face flashing in his mind.

"Sounds interesting. You should tell me more about this village you're from someday." Karin nodded.

"I'll go make tea while you get installed!" Yuzu's face lit up as she ran into the kitchen, leaving Karin to lead them to the living room.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

"This technology never ceases to amaze me..." Ulquiorra whispered, caressing the TV remote and pointing it at the TV, pushing on a button and marveling when the channel changed without him having to get up and push the buttons on the TV.

"Yes, I agree." Grimmjow nodded, used to the monitoring TV's they had in Hueco Mundo, the simple screens with lots of complicated buttons and switches below them. Such simplicity was new to them.

"Hey boys..." Karin looked up from her portable gaming console and sighed. "Aren't you bored already? You've been at this for hours."

"No, no, there are so many new things to discover, after all." Ulquiorra waved a hand lightly, dismissing her statement.

"Well, Ichi-nii will be home from school in a couple of hours, so you'll have to keep occupied until then." Yuzu's pretty little head popped in from the kitchen door, smudged with barbecue sauce on the cheek. "Thankfully for you, I have the perfect job for you two."

"Oh really? A mission?" Ulquiorra instinctively asked, looking straight at her.

"If you want to put it that way." The girl shrugged and walked up to him, grabbing his hand and opening it, putting a bill of money in it. "We don't have any milk and bread left. Could you go to the supermarket and buy some so I can finish dinner?" she pleaded with big watery eyes.

"O-Of course!" Ulquiorra blinked, surprised, clutching the bill tightly. "We will do our best."

"Ah, and don't bring 2 percent milk." Karin whined, still at her game. "Look for the light blue package, skim milk. And white bread, black bread is disgusting."

The Ex-Espada processed this information for a moment, then headed for the front door.

"Kay, we'll be back soon." Grimmjow announced before they exited the front door.

"Human nutrition is so complicated." Ulquiorra whined, looking at the money in his hands.

"But this is what we have to deal with, right?" Grimmjow sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Skim milk and white bread, huh? I think we can do that."

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

"Which one's skim?" Grimmjow asked in desperation as he checked two different cartons of milk, both light blue.

"I think they're both skim..." Ulquiorra analyzed carefully, reading the labels.

"Then why are they different?" the Sexta panicked.

"I don't know. Here, just pick the one that looks prettiest and hope it's the right kind." The Cuatra shrugged and sighed in desperation.

"And the bread? Did you get white bread?" the blue-haired Arrancar asked as the put one of the cartons back in its place in the fridge.

"Well, yes, but there were flat ones and square ones, so I didn't know what to pick..." the ebony-haired Arrancar sighed desperately, putting up two bags of bread: one toast and one flat bread.

"Well, the square ones look whiter than the flat ones, so pick the flat ones and let's go..." Grimmjow rubbed his neck with an indecisive expression on his face, then sighed. The two headed for the cash register without any other exchanged words.

"Good day, sirs!" the girl there greeted, taking the milk and bread from their hands and scanning it. "That'll be five seventy five, please." She smiled.

"Uhh, here..." Grimmjow handed her a bill with a twenty written on it.

"Thank you... One moment." She took it and put it in the cash, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra watching curiously as she counted some money and handed it back to them, along with their stuff in a plastic bag. "Have a nice evening!" she wished.

"Thanks." The Arrancars nodded, and, one of them taking the bag, the other, the money, they headed out.

"Well, it sure was stuffy in there..." Ulquiorra complained.

"I know, right? Hopefully, we won't need to go here again..." Grimmjow sighed, pocketing the money in his jeans.

"So now what? Which way do we go?" Ulquiorra asked, looking from one side to the other of the street.

"Well, if we go right, it's Ichigo's school, so we should go left to go home." Grimmjow analyzed.

"Right then. Let's go le-"

A tremor rippled through their gigai bodies as something suddenly happened. They didn't recognize it at first with their reiatsu dulled, but they blinked in surprise once they identified what was causing the shock waves in their spines.

"Hollows..."

"I'm curious... Let's go see!" Ulquiorra, almost entranced, turned right, and started running, following the Hollow's reiatsu.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

Ichigo was calmly sitting in class, boring his pretty little head out as usual, when suddenly, something rippled through him. A Hollow's reiatsu.

He sighed and growled. The reiatsu was close, very very close. In fact, he could spot the large, snake-like Hollow in the schoolyard, looking around for prey to pounce on.

Gosh, what a pain. Every time a measly Hollow appeared in Karakura, he had to excuse himself to do it. Chad was absent today and Ishida refused to do it, telling him Hollows were Shinigamis' problems.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime whispered urgently from next to him, snapping him out of his whiny thoughts.

"Yeah yeah, I'm going." He ruffled his hair and raised his hand to ask to be excused.

"Yes, Kurosaki?"

"Uhh, sensei?"

He never finished his sentence. The reiatsu suddenly fluctuated, going up and down. That meant... the Hollow was dying.

He quickly peered over his shoulder, out the window, towards the schoolyard. If his eyes could widen further, they would. His eyes landed on the snake-Hollow, lying down defeated on the ground with Ulquiorra sitting on top of its head, feet dangling in midair like it was nothing. Grimmjow was looking around, probably something to break the Hollow's mask with without having to hurt his gigai.

The blue-haired Espada's hands curled up around a thick branch and he lifted it, immediately bringing it upon the Hollow, instantly shattering its mask. It cried out before evaporating, letting Ulquiorra drop.

The two exchanged words very briefly, and suddenly turned their eyes towards Ichigo. Gazes met, and the Sexta grinned with a thumbs up before running out of the school boundaries. The Cuatra shrugged and bowed lightly before following.

"Kurosaki! KUROSAKI!"

The slamming of a book on his desk woke him up from his astonished state and he jumped, looking at the teacher, who was leaning over him, angry.

"You had a question, and now that I'm ready to answer, you don't even have the decency to look at me?"

"N-No sensei, I just thought I'd seen something outside!" Ichigo quickly apologized, shaking his head. "I just wanted to ask, uhh... if the answer to this problem is 64."

The teacher sighed and nodded, turning around to go back to the blackboard.

"Yes class, correct yourselves if you are wrong. The answer is 64. Now please turn your attention back to the class, Kurosaki."

"Yes Ma'am." Ichigo sighed in relief and looked to the side, seeing Orihime's and Ishida's gazes drilling into him.

Gosh, he really didn't want to explain.

Maybe he should start coming up with a lie right now.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

"That wasn't even a challenge." Grimmjow grunted, popping his neck.

"It was only a mere Hollow. We don't even need to change into our spirit forms if they are all weak like this. We can crush them just like that." The Cuatra shrugged.

"Alright, let's head home, it's already getting late." Grimmjow sighed. "Tch, and it's only 3 o' clock."

"You're right, Yuzu-chan is probably waiting for us, too." Ulquiorra's eyes fell to the plastic bag clutched tightly in Grimmjow's fingers.

The two walked in silence and turned the next corner, watching as a gang of teenagers, about as old as Ichigo, passed by them, laughing and swearing loudly.

"I don't like it here..." Grimmjow whispered as soon as they were out of audition's radius.

"You'll get used to it. Besides, they're just kids, they're young and foolish. They don't even know the price of their words." Ulquiorra comforted, noting that one of them had gotten away from the group. Without even saying bye, simply flipping his gang the bird for some reason, the teen laughed and started walking back a few feet behind them, probably going home.

"Hmm, I think he's stalking us." Grimmjow snickered, teeth glinting in the light as he smirked.

"Ha ha. Funny." Ulquiorra rolled his eyes bemusedly.

They walked in silence again, footsteps echoing on the sidewalk. Out of courtesy, as soon as Grimmjow realized the boy was walking faster than them, he cut a little in front of Ulquiorra to give the kid some space to pass.

The boy simply got closer and closer, and as soon as he was close enough... he grabbed Grimmjow's bag and pulled.

Thrown off by the momentum, Grimmjow whirled around and gazed uninterestedly as the teen, about seventeen years of age, tried to pry his bag away, laughing and yelling "give it to me!" like this was all some kind of joke. A couple dozen feet away, his gang was watching curiously.

Grimmjow didn't react to his taunt, but acknowledged that the bag might rip if they continued like this for too long. Instead, in a rapid flash, he raised his legs and slammed his foot into the side of the teenager.

He stopped laughing and let go of the bag, falling down and clutching his side, wincing. Grimmjow simply shrugged and turned around to leave, watching in mild curiosity as the kid got up and limped back to his gang.

"Hmm, told ya he was stalking us." He grinned once he was out of earshot again.

"Next time, let's put a bomb in there and let him take it." Ulquiorra snickered.

The two laughed as they crossed the street, spotting the Ichigo residence and clinic a little further away.

"If he could still run, though... that means I didn't hit him hard enough." Grimmjow made a _tch_ noise and bit his thumb pensively.

"If you hit him harder than that, his ribs would break, or you could damage an organ, and then he'd legally have the right to sue you... Or something like that." The Cuatra told him.

"Well, now I know how to regulate my force then. I'll have to hit harder than that to break a Hollow's mask, though. I wonder if it'll hurt my gigai if I do so." He mused out loud.

"You won't know until you try. Not that I recommend trying to hurt your gigai." Ulquiorra smiled lightly as they opened the front gate to Ichigo's house and went for the door.

"Okay... This stays between us, okay?" Grimmjow simply added, and only waited for Ulquiorra's nod to open the door.

"We're back." The ebony-haired Arrancar stepped in first and kicked off his running shoes, walking into the kitchen with Grimmjow following.

"Took ya long enough!" Yuzu complained, taking the milk and bread from Grimmjow's hands. "Thank you, though!" she smiled appreciatively and headed back to her work.

"So where's your dad?" Grimmjow asked, looking around.

"Working. We have a critical patient at the clinic today, so he probably won't be joining us until dinner. Ichigo should be coming home soon, too, so we can all sit down then. Till then, though, I have to cook, so please excuse me." The little girl bowed apologetically and went back to cooking whatever she was cooking.

"Ah, the cashier gave us some money back." Grimmjow told her, holding out the little coins and bills.

"Put them on the table, thank you."

Uncomfortable with getting in the girl's way, the two Arrancars exited the kitchen, eyes falling upon Karin, who was deeply concentrated on playing a video game.

So now what?

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

"Guys, I'm home!" Ichigo called as soon as he stepped in, dropping his schoolbag in the entrance alley and kicking off his shoes. "Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, I need to talk to you about today and I have important news I have to sha-"

His speech was once again interrupted as his eyes fell upon his blue-haired friend, sitting down next to his little sister in front of the TV, pushing buttons on a controller.

"Attack, dammit, attack!" Grimmjow growled, making Karin laugh and push more buttons.

"Hey Grimmjow?" Ichigo tried, getting close, but Grimmjow prompted him to hush.

"Shuuush, can't you see I'm trying to kick your little sister's butt at this game?" he whined, pushing more random buttons.

"Hah, keep trying, I'm this household's number one champion." The girl laughed, K.O.-ing Grimmjow's character. Grimmjow growled and almost immediately demanded a rematch, to which Karin gladly agreed.

Leaving the two to their gaming, Ichigo curiously poked his head into the kitchen, wondering what surprises awaited him at home. His eyes fell upon his other little sister who was up on the counter, pointing things in a cook book. Right next to her was Ulquiorra, wearing an apron and nodding at her instructions. His hands, some of his hair and his right cheek were colored white with flour, and he was beating an egg inside a bowl while listening to Yuzu.

"Y-Yuzu? U-Ulquiorra?" he asked, confused. Who were the two Espada posers and what had they done with the real Espada?

"Ah, Ichigo, welcome home!" Yuzu looked up and smiled. "You're just in time! Dinner's just finished cooking!" she grinned, hopping off the counter with Ulquiorra's help and running to hug Ichigo around the waist, marking his beige uniform with flour.

"What's up with Ulquiorra?" Ichigo whispered into Yuzu's ear, watching as Ulquiorra finished with his egg and put it in a bowl, mixing the contents of the bowl afterward.

"Nothing's wrong, I guess I just taught him the basics of cooking. He looked interested enough. And look!" she turned to Ulquiorra. "Ulquiorra, show Ichi-nii what you made!"

Ulquiorra blinked in surprise, finally having acknowledged Ichigo, and smiled lightly, pulling a tray from on the stove and holding it out to him.

"I made these with your sister's help. They look good, but they need to cool off a bit first." Ichigo's eyes widened as he spotted the slightly deformed, but beautiful chocolate chip cookies arranged on the tray, left out to cool.

"We'll eat Ulquiorra-san's cookies for dessert. Let's eat our meal first, though. Dad's working and won't be joining us, so pick a place." Yuzu nodded and ran to the stove, putting on some oven mitts and pulling out a big roast with potatoes and carrots scattered around it.

The Shinigami simply watched in confusion and slight awe as everyone ran around, putting things down, picking things up, and generally busy.

"Grimmjow-san, Karin, dinner!" Yuzu finally screamed.

"Coming!" came two simultaneous voices from the living room, followed by Grimmjow's groan and Karin's laugh. The two of them entered the dining area and plopped down on some chairs while Karin put down a bowl of rice in the middle, next to the roast, sitting down in her favourite place.

All went silent, and all gazes went to Ichigo.

"Nii-chan, aren't you eating?" Karin asked, grabbing a fork in anticipation.

"After all the effort Ulquiorra-san and I put into the food, too!" Yuzu pouted.

"O-Oh, of course I'm eating!" Ichigo rubbed his neck and sat down, looking around. The mood was completely different from what he was used to. Even Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, the merciless, bloodthirsty mercenaries chained to Aizen, had warmed up to human company. To think that was actually possible.

"Supermarkets are too damn scary." Grimmjow complained, stuffing some roast in his mouth. "Never goin' in there alone again!"

A collective laugh rang around the table, so contagious it even affected the dumbstruck teenager at the head of the table.

Ichigo simply smiled and helped himself, enjoying the sound of laughter coming from his friends and family.

No, he wouldn't ruin it.

He wouldn't ask Grimmjow and Ulquiorra why they went to kill that Hollow.

He wouldn't ask them what they did all day.

He wouldn't tell them they had to go to Soul Society tomorrow evening as Urahara had informed him on the way home from school.

No, he wouldn't say any of these things.

Not now.

Not yet.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**That thing that happened to Grimmy? Yeah, that happened to me on Halloween night. Instead of Grimmy, it was me, instead of Ulqui, it was my best friend. I was holding Halloween candy, though, but the rest happened exactly as in the story O: I didn't kick him hard enough if he could still run... Meh xD**

**Ah, the joys of human worlds and skim milk :/ I've never made the difference between different brands of milk anyway xD  
**

**Anyways, last semi-filler chapter before the real action starts! And I have no idea what I mean by that cause from this point on, I'm improvising! :D Help me~ Any ideas are more than welcome U.U**

**Omg guys, 50 reviews? :D That makes me soo happeh~ Thanks so much for your constant support and reviews, I really couldn't have done any of this without you ^^ I hope I won't disappoint, and if you ever see something that's bugging you, anything, tell me, and if it's not crucial to the story, I'll see to changing it (: I aim to please, after all.**

**Once moar, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ULQUIORRAAAAA~ May the rest of your years be full of Grimmjow-ness and may you be spared the horrors of Orihime ^^ If I have time, I'll draw some fanart for him, but if I don't, I'll consider this chapter as his gift (: Although I bet he'd want to Cero my head off if he saw what I've done to his tough, cold demeanor ^^ **

**Also, gimme a shout on what path you'd like this story to go on. Should I deepen the friendship between 6415? Should I go back to angsting and overcoming hardships? Adventure? Humour? Anything? D:  
**

**So yeah, hope you like it :D Let's hope the action picks up next chapter, any ideas at all are very welcome, and stay tuned. Oh, and please review. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please.**


	8. 7: Oh Joy, a Democracy

**Author's Notes:**

**The main reason why this is so late is the number of exams I've had in the last week. High school ain't easy, trust me :/ Thankfully, they're all over for the moment now. The next one I have is this Friday, and it doesn't need studying. After that, the next one is Monday. Anyways, that means I'm free for the next while. Also cause I fell in love with the filler arc in the anime "Unknown Zanpakuto Tales" and "Beast Swords" arcs. They're. Amazing. Best fillerz EVAH.  
**

**Also, this chapter was extremely late because of its humongous length (8000 words O_o) and all the research behind it. I'll explain everything at the bottom A/N's.**

**So yep, thank you to Kakushi Miko, Unico Luna Angelo, Bokmal14, Tifalochrt, Hotaru-Jaegerjacquez, Yamapikarya, CoolGirl150, deadpoolhulk, sblack13 and .lolcatsrule. for all their amazing reviews. Omg guys, I am... speechless in front of all the nice words and constructive advice I'm receiving. I love you all so much for this :D**

**Alrighty then, the chapter we've all been waiting for... IT'S SOUL SOCIETY TIME :D**

**Warning: Grimmy swears in this one O: Gasp, what a shocker...**

* * *

The day had passed quickly, too quickly for both the Espada's and the Shinigami's tastes. All three of them found themselves in front of a closed Senkaimon gate far quicker than they wanted to be.

"Are you boys ready?" Urahara asked as he paced around the Senkaimon, looking at the three boys, all in Soul Form. Their gigais and Ichigo's human body were out of commission for the moment, left upstairs to be cared for by Ururu and Tessai. Jinta would just break them if he tried.

"Pshh, ready as I'll ever be to go hand myself over to my greatest enemies." Grimmjow growled nervously, hiding his anxiety behind anger.

"Ah, but the tables have turned, and Soul Society is not your greatest enemy anymore, right?" a mischievous glint lit up in the older man's eyes.

Grimmjow didn't reply. He knew it was true, and that now, he was safer with Soul Society than with Aizen, yet he still couldn't consider the idea of handing himself over to people who hated him.

"Whose crazy idea was this, anyway?" he complained loudly.

"That would be mine." Urahara chuckled amusedly.

"You crazy bastard, you're gonna get both of us killed. We're still Espada, and no matter what the story is, they'll never give up an alibi to get us executed." The blue-haired Espada ran a hand through his hair.

The blond shinigami simply shrugged as if saying "_do what you want"_ and walked for the Senkaimon. His gaze hardened as he put a hand on it.

"It's ready."

The three teens stiffened in anticipation as the older shinigami waved his hand, the gates sliding open, a light shining inside.

"Ichigo will lead you to Soul Society. Watch out for the Soul Train and the Currents, but asides that, you'll be fine." He smiled, and briefly flashed them a melancholic, almost worried glance. "Good luck, boys."

"Alright then!" Ichigo stretched and grinned at his two friends. "Let's not waste any time! Come on!" he finished by shunpo-ing right in front of the gate and entering after flashing Urahara a small smile. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra looked at each other indecisively for a second before sonido-ing where Ichigo had shunpoed and entered without a second glance.

Urahara simply made sure they were in before he closed the gate and sighed, tipping his hat down to obscure his eyes.

"Just come back home, boys... Please."

Inside the gate, at first, all the boys saw was dark. When they did get accustomed to the dim light, they spotted Ichigo, who was a little further ahead.

"Hurry up guys. Let's make the most distance while the train is still out of sight." He ordered, breaking into a run.

The Espada sonidoed next to him quickly and sped up to match his steps, looking around at the precipice world. It did look dark and gloomy.

Too absorbed in their sightseeing, none of them realized the Soul Train was behind them until it actually was right behind them.

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed, making the Espada turn around, only to be blinded by the bright light in the front of the sweeper.

"What is that?" Ulquiorra asked calmly, matching Ichigo's strides easily.

"A sweeper of a sort. You get touched by it, and your soul's a goner. It's made to prevent people from staying in the precipice world for too long." The shinigami briefly explained, concentrated on running. "It usually does go faster than most shinigami, though, so we might wanna speed up."

"Right." The Arrancars nodded in unison and pumped their legs faster as the weird device whirred behind them. It did get annoying, though, so after a while, the three elite souls decided to shunpo and sonido instead of just run. It'd take reiatsu, but it's not like they had a harsh battle ahead of them.

"_Well..." _Ichigo thought wryly, wincing. _"Let's hope not..."_

"There's the light!" The Cuatra suddenly noted, pointing ahead as a small light appeared at the end of the tunnel.

"Yeah, that's where we're going. Not long now." The orange-haired teen nodded.

No more words were exchanged until they all stumbled into the light and out of the precipice world.

The three of them fell to their knees, panting. It did seem like a short time they were there, but their missing reiatsu proved otherwise. Not the best idea to shunpo and sonido in the precipice world.

"Alright then. Where have we landed anyhow?" Ichigo muttered out loud, looking around. They were certainly inside Seireitei, but he wasn't sure where. The twists and turns did tend to get quite confusing at some point. At least he knew he had landed in a vast open space, and it did look a little familiar to where he'd fought Renji for the second time and beat him.

"Well, you're the guide here." Grimmjow looked around, staring at the simple, yet robust constructions, the bright blue sky, and just the light air in general.

Soul Society felt so much more different than Hueco Mundo, even more so now that he had the time to step back and enjoy it.

If they hadn't noticed the rushing reiatsu towards them on time, it was probably because they'd been sightseeing. Then again, it had never been their intention to hide.

The two Espada gasped shortly as enormous reiatsu suddenly surrounded them, white figures floating into view one by one, shunpo-ing into a circle all around them.

One by one, all the thirteen captains of the Thirteen Protection Squads appeared around them. The Vice-Captains appeared only a second afterwards. Yet one thing remained the same in all the squads.

The glares.

It was kinda pressuring, to say the least. Having so many people watching you, staring at you, _hatefully, _if it wasn't forbidden to add.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

They all turned to the gruff voice that spoke, coming face-to-face with an old man with a very long beard, leaning on his cane.

"Welcome back to Soul Society. Unfortunately... We'll ask you to back away from the Espada and let us take care of the rest for now."

In a flash, the captains of the thirteenth and sixth squads were behind the two Espada, gripping their arms and shoving them to the back, ropes immediately binding them in place.

"Stop! Don't hurt them!" Ichigo immediately ordered, making the two captains stop in mid-action and stare, wondering what to do.

"They are the enemy! Restrain them!" the head captain bellowed, making the two men look around, ripped between decisions. A few seconds later, they nodded and kept binding the Arrancars' arms back.

"Damn it, that hurts, you know." Grimmjow whined, shaking a little in Ukitake's arms.

"Stop hurting them." Ichigo called coldly again. "They're with me."

"_With_ you, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya scoffed. "These guys have been our enemies from the very start! How can they be _with_ you all of a sudden?"

"That's true, kid." Soi Fon crossed her arms, glaring. "What do you have, a permanent concussion?"

"No, I have common sense, something which you obviously lack." Ichigo retorted.

"Why you-" the second squad's captain never had the time to finish because that's when Renji stepped in.

"Ichigo's telling the truth. They're not the enemy anymore."

Rukia quickly joined his side, glaring at Byakuya firmly.

"Believe us, Nii-sama, they are not the enemy."

There was a small silence, until the captain commander spoke again.

"Nonetheless, take them to a prison cell and suppress their reiatsu. I want them bound so tight they can't even twitch." He ordered before turning around and heading off.

"Kurosaki..." Grimmjow winced as Ukitake apologetically finished binding his wrists together. "You better know what you're doing."

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

The two Arrancars ended up in a prison cell a few hours later, staring at the empty walls each on their side of the cell. For both of them, shackles had been installed on their wrists and had been secured on the wall on top of them, loose chains binding them from their ankles to a hook on the floor.

"We've been in this position more than once, right?" Ulquiorra suddenly whispered for the first time in hours, chains clinking gently as he turned his head to look at Grimmjow, who was watching the cracks in the wall pensively.

"You're too pessimistic. We've got an entire life ahead of us. We should just forget about the past..." he encouraged, not even looking back.

In a sense, his companion's words rang true.

They had been in this exact same position before.

And yet, both of them felt awkwardly inclined to prefer this situation over the others they'd been put in, ultimately leading to this.

Captivity.

Again.

"I'm sorry, Grimmjow, but..." the Cuatra finally sighed. "I feel like I'll burst if I don't talk about... stuff. Does that make me weak?"

"In a way, yeah." The Sexta nodded, looking to the side to meet the Cuatra's worried green eyes. "Cause it means you can't keep your pain to yourself and require help from others." He looked up, staring at a crack in the ceiling. "That's what I used to think, though. After coming to the real world... Ichigo taught me that asking for help is one of the greatest strengths you can have." He chuckled darkly. "I'm still debating whether it's okay to throw away all the beliefs I've built to protect myself from the world to instantly adopt this vision of the world... But... Ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I will be King. But not by force. I'll find another way, but I will end up on top."

"Does that mean... It's okay for me to... be afraid...?" The Cuatra asked as if the emotion was quite foreign to him.

"Quite frankly, yes, it is." The Sexta chuckled for a moment, then his smile died down, and he was left staring at the ground. "I... I'm kind of scared too, y'know... Scared cause I don't know what's in store for me in the future. I'm used to having my life planned out for me: Live for Aizen, die for Aizen. But I've finally opened my eyes and realized it doesn't work that way. I have to make my own destiny now, and... frankly? I don't think I'm capable."

"All you gotta do is fight, right? Fight, and never let anyone drag you down. Find your freedom and become stronger to make your own destiny."

"Yes... I think that right now, all we can aim for is one common goal." Grimmjow's eyes lit up with passion and hate. "Bringing that Aizen bastard down for good."

"Yes, he deserves to pay, for everything." Ulquiorra quietly agreed, pulling his knees up in a rattling of chains and putting his head down on top of them, tired. Many thoughts were whirling in his head, and yet he couldn't pinpoint exactly which one to deal with first.

Instead, he settled for staying silent and seeing what would happen next.

They must have stayed a couple more hours in there before the door finally opened, light filtering into the dim cell. The two Arrancars winced and growled as they noticed two people at the door, heading silently for them.

"Just when I was finally getting some sleep." The blue-haired male snickered humourlessly as one of them, with curly brown hair, stepped inside the cell, looking very _very_ bored as he approached Ulquiorra. "Oi, what do you think you're doing?" Grimmjow growled, glaring at the newcomer.

Ulquiorra simply looked up, staying calm despite the situation. If the need arose, he could try and defend himself. The choker they'd been forced to wear suppressed all their reiatsu, but if he could get his arms free, then he could hold his own for a while, until escape options opened in front of him.

"Calm down kid." The brown-haired man finally spoke, yawning lazily. "Just doing what I'm asked to do, I have no intention of hurting you." He shrugged and gently started working with the chains that bound the Cuatra's wrists to the wall.

"I'm surprised." Grimmjow scoffed as the white-haired man from before went for him. "Weren't we your sworn enemies just a few hours ago? What happened to that?"

"Well." The long-haired captain that was freeing him interrupted. "You were, and you still are. I personally, do not like harming innocents, and I do believe you feel the same way, Kyoraku."

"Yes, I do." The other man nodded and finally got Ulquiorra's wrists down. The latter winced as his stretched muscles finally came to rest as he put his bound hands in his lap and sighed.

"Innocents? What a joke. You, of all people, should surely know how many people we've killed and hurt on behalf of that Aizen bastard." The blue-haired Arrancar spat on the side, yet couldn't help feel relieved once his arms had been eased down as well.

"Well then, if that's the case, why didn't you stay with him in Hueco Mundo? It sure would have saved all of us, and you, a lot of trouble." Ukitake sarcastically answered, his smirk letting on that he knew more than he showed.

The Ex-Espada suddenly sobered, looking down, shadows veiling their eyes. Was there a reason for them to stay in Hueco Mundo? Not after what happened... No, they had nothing left there. They had a mutual agreement going on in their minds by now: They were not destined to go back to Hueco Mundo. Ever. And much less die there.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's with the gloomy mood all of a sudden?" Kyoraku sighed, opening the shackles on Ulquiorra's ankles and letting them drop noisily on the ground.

"You don't have to say anything." The thirteenth division's captain smiled gently, watching Grimmjow's glazed eyes follow his movements absently as he unlocked his ankles as well. "Kurosaki told your story. Captain-Commander is still debating your sentence, but if it comes down to a vote, I... I, personally, will vote for your innocence and release."

"We don't need your pity..." Grimmjow simply whispered, too overwhelmed to argue further. First, their sworn enemies treating them well, then Ichigo covering for them the entire time, and now this. He didn't even know what to feel anymore.

"It's not pity. On the contrary. It's because we believe that Aizen, and not his subordinates, should be punished for what he's done. That's all." The brown-haired captain shrugged and gently grabbed Ulquiorra's upper arm, helping him up. Grimmjow idly wondered why his comrade needed the support until Ukitake did the same to him, and he stumbled as soon as he got up.

"Damn it." He growled, feeling wobbly on his legs. Not only were his legs sore and trembling, but all his energy and reiatsu had been sapped out by that choker of his. As much as he hated to say it, he needed the support the older man was giving him.

"Don't worry. As soon as you're announced innocent, you'll have them taken off." The thirteenth squad's captain simply told him before letting go of his arm and intertwining his pale, long fingers in the heavy chains that still bound the Arrancar's wrists in front of him. "Now come."

"Yeah, let's just get this over with..." Kyoraku sighed, dragging Ulquiorra out after Grimmjow.

The small procession walked in silence, neither of the shinigami nor Arrancar having anything to say to each other. In fact, it was kinda awkward for the two Espada to be pushed –or in this case, pulled- around like this.

Then again, as long as it wasn't Aizen pushing them around, they both agreed that they didn't mind that much. Besides, they'd already lost everything they'd built during their short lives as Hollows, and now, with a whole new life ahead of them, they intended on rebuilding perfectly, without any cracks or holes, this time.

That is, if they ever survived their little _pleasure_ trip to Soul Society.

With those thoughts in mind, the two Arrancars were led into a very large circular room.

On one side were stadiums aligned, where important seats of every division were sitting in silence, watching curiously as the Arrancars were brought in. On the other side of the room were the stadiums where the Vice-Captains of each and every squad were seated, also watching curiously. Right up front, against the wall, were the seats reserved for the 13 captains, Yamamoto sitting in the very middle, practically towering over everyone in the room. They too, only had eyes for them.

And in the very middle of the room, in the circle delimited by all the seats, was standing Ichigo, looking at them with a reassuring smile as they came up to his side.

"Here you go..." Kyoraku gently whispered, quickly prying the chains off of Ulquiorra's wrists, letting him rub the red marks on them in slight pain. Even before the chains were dropped, clattering on the floor next to the Cuatra, Kyoraku had flash stepped and was now sitting in his place in front of them.

"Good luck." Ukitake caringly encouraged, removing Grimmjow's chains as well before imitating his friend and returning to his place at the very end of the seats reserved for the Captains.

"Well then, good morning to you too, everyone." Grimmjow stretched his tired limbs and rubbed the deep marks left by the chains on his wrists.

"I told you that if you hurt them, you'd be dealing with me." Ichigo calmly stated.

"Ichigo, it's okay. This pain is nothing. Hardly even called pain." Ulquiorra assured him quietly, not wanting to be caught in the middle of a heated argument between Shinigami.

"Now, let us begin." The Head Captains voices echoed in the room as he stared gruffly at the Espada. "The essential question first. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you two here and now."

Grimmjow smirked amusedly as the reply instantly popped into his mind. Oh, this was going to be a fun afternoon after all.

"Give me one reason why you should."

"You are our enemies and have tried to kill members of the thirteen protection squads on many occasions. You are also a part of Aizen's army, and the least strength there is in that army, the better."

"I don't answer to badly formed sentences." The Sexta shrugged.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Soi Fon immediately perked up at the comment.

"I'll only answer if you use your verbs correctly. Say... in the past tense, maybe?" Grimmjow rubbed his chin in a pensive, yet mocking way. "Maybe like... You _were_ a part of Aizen's army, and the least strength there is in that army, the better."

"Supposing I did put my verbs in the past tense, what would your answer be?" Yamamoto asked, not showing it if he was only slightly amused by this conversation.

"Then there would be no point in answering since we cannot have an answer now for what has taken place in the past." Ulquiorra butted in before Grimmjow could go on unleashing a bunch of swears.

"Well then, you are Hollows. Moreover, Arrancars. That should be more than enough reason to kill you." Captain Komamura stated from the side of the seats.

"Here, here, see? That, right there, is discrimination! Racism, even." Grimmjow ran a hand through his messy hair, making it even messier.

"Besides, don't the 13 squads' rules serve to settle peace between all living and soul beings? How is breaking two puppets going to solve anything? You might wanna go get the puppeteer instead. For the moment, the strings have broken, but you never know when the puppeteer might decide to _start playing_ with the puppets again and will simply replace the strings." The Cuatra calmly explained.

"Some sense of justice. Just like that bitch Tousen." The blue-haired Arrancar growled, phantom pain dancing across his left arm at the mention of the former shinigami.

"Don't insult Tousen!" Komamura roared, getting up furiously and slamming his hands on the desk in front of him.

"Seventh Squad Captain, please remain seated!" the Head Captain's voice boomed, silencing everyone. The animalistic captain sat back down, bearing fangs at Grimmjow.

"Good job, idiot, you just made yourself another enemy." Ulquiorra quietly whispered to him, rolling his eyes.

"Well what the bloody hell was I supposed to say? I love Tousen and enjoy having tea parties with him? The freakin psycho cut my arm off and burnt it to ashes for no other reason than _'cause I don't like you_'!" The Sexta yelled back, his cheeks reddening with all the blood rushing to his head in anger. "And then try to forget how Szayel whined on for days and days as he made me a new one?"

"Why wouldn't I remember? _My_ high speed regeneration was the one used as a medium to get you your arm back." The Cuatra Espada sighed and pushed some hair out of his eyes. "Sometimes, you're such a handful, Grimmjow."

"Shut up, and you're a jerk." Said Espada smirked and turned back to the Head Captain as he cleared his throat.

"Well then, done bickering?"

"Yes Sir, please go on." Grimmjow mock bowed and snickered.

"Well then, Cuatra and Sexta Espada of Former Shinigami Aizen's army, what do you have to say to sustain your innocence?"

"The puppet show will not end until the puppets are considered boring and consequentially thrown away. I'm not ready to see that happen yet." Ulquiorra calmly answered, staring straight at the Head Captain.

"The cake was a lie." Was all Grimmjow muttered.

There was an astounded silence in the room, and all incredulous stares went to the Sexta, who was glaring at the ground, arms crossed.

"What? Why are you all looking at me like I'm an idiot?"

"You just talked about _cake_ in the most important discussion you'll ever have in your pitiful existence!" Soi Fon growled.

"Second Squad Captain, please calm down." The Head Captain waved a hand to silence her, then looked back at the Espada. Ulquiorra was sadly staring at the ground, appearing to simply be depressed if not for the raging anger and desperation whirling in his eyes. Grimmjow was showing his emotions more visibly, clenching and unclenching his fists, grinding his teeth together, shaking in anger.

"My life is as full of potential as yours. It's as important as yours. Now shut up, don't speak of things you don't know about." He seethed quietly, firing lightning at her with his fierce, angry blue eyes. "I'm not as stupid as some people think. They think I'm the psychotic bastard who only loves swinging a sword around for the sake of seeing blood. That might... partially be true, but..." he finally unclenched his fists and hung his arms at his side, looking up at the entire row of Captains, yet unable to speak.

"We have feelings. We are Hollows, yes, and we lack a heart, yes, but we have evolved, evolved to become much closer to Shinigami. We have developed feelings. What you all know of us and our personalities, they are all lies. They are what we wanted you to see. Devoid of emotion, I, personally, did try to attain that status, but found it impossible. Emotions are the foundation of life and sanity in itself. It's impossible to lead a life without feelings." Ulquiorra tied up his loose ends until his comrade found the strength to speak again.

"I'm not stupid. I don't particularly appreciate being treated as a stupid, mindless, violent psycho. Okay, so I am violent and I might be psychotic sometimes. Doesn't mean I can't feel things like anguish, or ecstasy, or agony, or betrayal, or despair. I'm labelled an inferior being because I have lost my heart... But I am not inferior to anyone in reality, because asides from the hole in my gut, nothing is different from you and I." He finished quietly, containing his rage.

There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone stared at Grimmjow. Even Ichigo was surprised that the Sexta was actually able to go on with a conversation like this without ripping anyone's throat out yet. Probably because he still had that choker of his.

Speaking of which, the young shinigami could tell that the piece of metal was draining their reiatsu and energy far too much. They'd have to end this soon or force them into collapsing. They were Espada, and could go on for another while, but still, it was dangerous to overestimate them, especially now that Aizen's not watching over them anymore.

"Oh, before I forget." Ukitake suddenly piped up. "What was that thing with cake that you mentioned?"

"Ah, the cake." Ulquiorra whispered, eyes downcast, lips set thinly in a frown. "What a lie."

"Power." Was all that went past the Sexta's thin lips.

"Power?" Kyoraku repeated curiously, scratching his head tiredly.

"Yes, power. It was all we desired. For lowly Adjuchas like us, power was what we needed to survive. We knew we couldn't do shit if we stayed in Adjuchas form, and that we needed to gain a real body in order to become fully autonomous. And so we fought. We endlessly grew, eating more and more Hollows, until we couldn't count anymore. But we never seemed to evolve..." the blue-haired Arrancar started.

"And then he came." The jade-eyed Hollow added in. "That bastard. He knew exactly what we wanted, exactly how to draw us in. He promised us happiness, safety, comfort, _power_. He offered us _everything_. All we had to do was give our minds, bodies and souls entirely over to him."

"And that's when we realized it was either a shot at this newcomer, or leading a life of despair wandering the endless sands of Hueco Mundo, trying to find a way out of this never-ending hell. We were the chosen ones, and practically had no choice but to follow him. And so we did." Grimmjow's words were cold and straight, yet it was somewhat obvious he was trying to hide the regret laced behind them.

"Then what about the-"

"It's like when you promise cake to a child in return for doing your work. You take advantage of the child because he doesn't understand what it means to be fairly treated, and only has his eyes on the cake he's been promised. It's only a few years later, when the child continually does the work and grows up, never actually receiving his rewards that he realizes: wait a minute, I'm not going to get it anyways, so why am I working this hard? And that's when he'll just drop it and realize that the cake, the reward, the power we'd been promised was all a lie."

There was another silence as everyone in the room pondered on the Sexta's words. For the violent, rash, psychotic Arrancar he was known for being, he really had a way with words.

"Smooth talker." Ichigo simply commented in a whisper, making Grimmjow grin.

"Just trying my best to not get our sorry little asses executed." He snickered, lightly bumping Ulquiorra's arm with his knuckles.

"You can be so childish sometimes..." the latter sighed, although a faint smile danced on his black and white lips before disappearing into that ever-present frown.

"What about the crimes you've committed?" Byakuya calmly returned to the subject.

"We haven't really done anything major. We've attacked the real world a few times, but with zero casualties in total." Ulquiorra reminded them. "The rest of the time, we were just holed up in Las Noches and working from there."

"Yeah, and the last time we did anything big was that attack on Seireitei a couple of weeks ago. How many casualties did you have in that battle?" Grimmjow crossed his arms and glared at the Head Captain.

"Fourth Division Captain?" Yamamoto called in a questioning tone.

"Although our barracks are still overloaded with severely injured shinigami from the other week, we have counted no casualties, as surprising as that may sound." Restu Unohana calmly answered, staring down at the Espada, coldly, yet somehow gently, too.

"How is that even possible? This is the Espada we're talking about!" Soi Fon objected violently.

"Who do you think we are, barbarians?" Grimmjow spat.

"Yes, Grimmjow is right. Simply because we are Espada, it doesn't mean we don't carry our pride as well. Our mission dictated we had to plant bombs, nothing more, nothing less. We find no point in killing innocent people who cannot defend themselves adequately. We are fighters, warriors, not murderers." Ulquiorra calmly explained.

"Yeah, and besides, asides from material damage, all the damage we've done has mainly been done to him." The Sexta smirked and pointed at Ichigo, who crossed his arms. "If so, shouldn't he be the person to choose whether we live or die?"

"Oi, don't say that like it's nothing, I do carry a grudge for hurting me so many times." Ichigo finally smirked. "Then again, I do feel bad for you and the entire _Aizen-going-on-a-rampage _situation you've been put through, so I guess I could save you out of pity." He watched amusedly as Grimmjow's thin eyebrows quirked in anger, his fists clenching and unclenching. "You poor little thing."

"SHUT UP!" Grimmjow's hand immediately went to his side to grab Pantera, but he remembered it'd been confiscated when his hand closed upon empty air. He growled, and immediately clenched his fist, lunching for Ichigo.

Ichigo immediately turned around to stop him while Ulquiorra simply watched calmly, almost knowing what would happen next.

Grimmjow suddenly stumbled, eyes widening as he lost his footing. The young shinigami's eyes also widened as the Sexta started falling for the ground, but even faster than him was Ulquiorra, who had already grabbed Grimmjow's falling hand to keep him from hitting the ground.

"That was insulting..." the teal-eyed Arrancar whispered, glaring at Ichigo as Ulquiorra helped him stand.

"Sorry, sorry, just taking revenge for all the times you've cut me." Ichigo smirked, but then turned to the Captains. "I thought I was clear when I said I'd get angry if you hurt them."

"We didn't hurt them." Mayuri piped in. "Those chokers are what are doing the trick. They absorb energy, as well as reiatsu, making them an indispensible tool for subduing jumpy little Hollows such as them." He smirked, raking his middle finger's long nail across his cheek absently.

"Coming back to the subject, what should we do as to their sentence?" Byakuya interrupted.

"Well, I'm the one they attacked the most, so I should be able to decide." Ichigo answered coldly, throwing a look at Grimmjow, who was lightly leaning on Ulquiorra, and the latter, who looked almost as bad as Grimmjow. "They're not at fault. They haven't done anything major. I say we absolve them of their so-called crimes and let them go free." His glare was steady, drilling into the Head Commander's forehead.

"They did cause us a lot of trouble beforehand, though, so we can't just let them go free." The Second Squad Captain growled, glaring at the Arrancars. "They're Hollows. And Hollows deserve to die. There is a reason why they are Hollows. It's because at the base of things, they've been bad during their lifetimes and lost their hearts after their death." She pointed out.

"That is true..." Unohana pondered out loud.

"Uhh, no! I refuse to be put in the same class as those lowly weaklings who couldn't even fight to keep their hearts!" Grimmjow yelled at her. "You think I wanted to be a Hollow? Oh sure, it's been my lifelong dream to lose my heart when I die!" he added sarcastically. "I've simply never had good timing, that's all. I ended up wandering the streets of my village when I died and was attacked and eaten by some Hollows that had been attracted to the reiatsu of the Shinigami in charge there."

"That explains why you're so violent. Mustn't have been nice, being eaten alive like that." Ichigo commented, although it did have a slightly humorous undertone to it.

"You wanna try, Kurosaki? I got some contacts that might help you with that." Grimmjow raised a brow, grinning cynically.

"I've simply never had the chance to be buried." Ulquiorra stated calmly when Ichigo decided not to reply to Grimmjow's comment. "I wandered around for a long time, without a shinigami to send me to Rukongai, and in the end, my Chain of Fate corroded itself and I was turned into a Hollow."

"And that comes to prove we haven't done anything bad in our lifetimes, either. It's kinda like we'd become Shinigami if someone had decided to help us get to Soul Society." The Sexta shrugged. "Oh well, your loss, ain't it?" he smirked arrogantly.

"Don't bet on it." Soi Fon seethed, crossing her arms childishly.

"Hey, hey, hey, I also infiltrated Seireitei and destroyed it in all its entirety, and yet here we are, having a nice, pleasant little chat with no one glowering over my head." Ichigo interrupted, putting his hands on his hips to accentuate his annoyed position. "I don't see how they should be treated any differently, since just like me, they were the enemy and became _good_ right afterwards. The only difference is that they have a huge hole in their body, and I don't!"

"True enough..." Kyoraku nodded sleepily.

"Then what should we do about their sentences?" Hitsugaya asked, very serious, as usual.

"How about we come down to a vote?"

All heads suddenly turned towards the door, watching in surprise as the new figure walked in, heading for Ichigo.

The woman finally stopped next to the Shinigami, the Ex-Espada glaring at her back.

"Ah, so you have come after all." Ichigo smiled, looking into her yellow eyes. "Yoruichi-san."

"Well, Urahara was sure you'd get into some kind of mess on your own, so he sent me to babysit." The woman snickered and crossed her arms.

"Yoruichi-sama!" Soi Fon called, eyes wide and unfocused as she watched her stand by the Arrancars. No way. There was no way her beloved teacher would support them... right?

"Oh, hello, Soi Fon." The cat-woman smiled and waved lightly at her. "In any case." She turned to greet the Head Captain with a glare. "How about we settle this debate with a vote? Anyone who wants them to be executed can stand up in their places, and whoever is for them being absolved of any punishment can come stand by us."

There was some silence as the Head Captain pondered on the former shinigami's words, then sighed, hitting his cane against the floor.

"In that case, anyone present in this room today is allowed to participate in the vote. After hearing these two Arrancars' story, arguments and testimonies, choose whichever option you truly believe in. Whoever believes that they are innocent can stand by their side. Whoever believes they should be executed can simply stand up in their seats. No one will judge you by whichever side you choose, and so, choose wisely, but following your own values." His heavy voice boomed in the room.

As soon as his last word was finished, Renji shunpoed to their side, standing firmly. Rukia quickly followed.

A second after, both Captains Shunsui and Jushirou appeared by their side, smiling, almost as if telling them they'd keep their promises.

There was a small silence as the small group of people glared at the room, almost as if challenging them.

Matsumoto suddenly shunpoed by their side, startling Hitsugaya.

"Matsumoto!" he asked in a loud, disbelieving voice.

"I'm sorry, Taichou, but I believe they don't deserve to die after having fought for so long." Her stare was straight and determined, so much that it made a shiver run down the young captain's spine.

As soon as they heard her words, Kira and Hinamori appeared by her side, staring at the head captain. After watching their captains for a second, Kiyone, Sentaro and Nanao also shunpoed. Whatever their captains believed would be their beliefs, since they were the ones who would guide them throughout their life.

Unohana finally shunpoed by their side, Isane quickly going to her as well. She didn't seem very sure, but her captain's comforting, decided glare set her mind straight. Yes, she would support the two Hollows.

Hisagi finally shunpoed as well, looking annoyed, but determined to stand by them. Almost as a reaction to that, Komamura also appeared, his lieutenant rushing to his side.

Zaraki finally went to their side, Yachiru almost immediately appearing on his left shoulder and turning around to smile at the Arrancars, whose eyes were wide, disbelieving that so many people would actually defend them.

"Grimmy-chan and Ulqui-kun, right?" she laughed, making the two Espada raise brows at their new nicknames. "Nice to meet you! I'm Yachiru, and this is Ken-chan!" she introduced her captain by poking one of the spikes on his hair.

"Oi, Sexta, right?" Kenpachi simply called without even turning around.

"That's what they used to call me." Grimmjow nodded, curious.

"I like those eyes." The eleventh division captain slightly turned to look at Grimmjow, smirking ferociously. "I will be looking forward to our fight."

"We have a pre-planned fight already?" the Sexta sighed, brushing the hair falling in his face back. "Fine, nice to meet you too."

Hanatarou finally sauntered up, smiling and bowing to the Espada, who stared back, mildly shocked.

"Hello there. I'm Hanatarou! Nice to meet you!" the kid seemed a little nervous, but the Espada eased it off with a small smile. Turns out they didn't have as many enemies as they originally thought.

Ikkaku and Yumichika followed quickly after, staring crossly at the Espada but sighing quickly afterwards.

"My brain tells me you're dangerous, but my guts say you're innocent." Ikkaku commented.

"For the most part, anyway." Yumichika shrugged.

Slowly, more unnamed officers started piling up in the middle of the room, staring defiantly up at the others, as if daring them to judge them wrong.

"Is that all? Then whoever wishes to see them dead please stand up." Yamamoto called as the remaining people stood up, staring coldly down at the Espada, who were simply watching and hoping their number was higher. Grimmjow simply smirked at the ones who wanted them dead, and Ulquiorra stared, freezing in place most of the lower class officers that wanted their deaths.

When no more movement was made in the room, the Head Captain started counting. The Espada and Ichigo held their breaths as they watched the Commander's eyes dart by, counting.

"The vote..." after an agonizingly long period of time where they all waited in bated breath, the Captain-Commander finally spoke up. "Is a tie."

"What? But we're not an even number of people in this room! How is that possible?" Ukitake asked immediately.

"Someone has not cast their vote, then." The Commander's eyes turned to his side, and almost immediately, all eyes went to Soi Fon, who was still seated, staring at the desk, eyes wide.

"Ah shit, we're screwed." Grimmjow put a hand to his forehead as soon as he realized that Soi Fon was the one who would decide of their sentence.

"Second Division Captain, make your choice. Do not be biased by anything you see, and follow your intuition and your heart." The Head Captain ordered, watching her as she clenched and unclenched her fists in an effort to calm down her frantic heart. What would she do?

She really did not believe the two Hollows deserved to live, but her long-time master, Yoruichi, did. And to her, that's all that mattered. Then again, the Head Captain had specified not to be biased, but was following the one person you trusted most a source of bias? Once she thought back to it, the Espada could have details about Aizen they didn't know about yet, but they were criminals! They had to be killed! Even if... even if they narrowly escaped Aizen's wrath and escaped, two less enemies to deal with, that's good! Then again, they weren't enemies for sure now, right?

All the contradictory thoughts whirled in her mind, blurring her senses and making her head hurt. She clutched her ears to block out the noises, but realized it served to nothing.

That's when she heard it.

"Soi Fon..."

Her head immediately whipped up and she looked down to see Yoruichi smiling gently at her.

"Yo...Yoruichi-sama!" she gasped.

"Soi Fon, it's okay. Close your eyes for a moment and listen to your heart. Do what your heart says is right. No one will judge you." The purple-haired woman gently told her.

The Second Division Captain finally put her arms down, staring blankly at the desk.

After what seemed like an eternity for everyone present in the room, she finally pushed her chair and stood up, slamming her hands down on the desk and shaking.

"Well then, it's been decided." Yamamoto's voice boomed, making the Espada's hearts sink. They were so close, so close to being free again. All their efforts, all their struggles, had they all been in vain? Were they really going to die here, now?

"Don't worry, I'll get you out." Ichigo whispered to them, determined not to let his two new friends die. His hand absently went to Zangetsu's hilt if the need to fight ever arose.

"According to popular vote, it has been decided that the Espada-"

He never got to finish because in the blink of an eye, Soi Fon had disappeared from her seat, reappearing next to Yoruichi, who blinked in surprise, and smiled, taking her hand.

"This is my choice. I swore to follow Yoruichi-sama forever, and I will. I was quite unsure of the situation, and so, I turned to her. She's the one who will guide me. I trust her judgement." She glowered at the rest of the court challengingly.

"You did what you thought was best, Soi Fon. I'm proud of you." Yoruichi smiled, gripping her hand tighter.

"Thank you, Yoruichi-sama..." the woman blushed and looked down, caught unaware by the praise.

"Well then, I'll rectify that. By popular vote, it has been decided that the Espada shall live and have full access to Seireitei as long as they respect the shinigami rules." Yamamoto, who was the only one allowed and obliged to stay neutral, announced. "This case is closed."

"Ah, we did it!" Ichigo yelled out, relieved. "Gosh, I was sure this was gonna turn awry."

"Yeah, especially with him around." Ulquiorra calmly jerked a thumb in Grimmjow's face, who rolled his eyes and smirked.

"You know you can't live without me."

"I know I wouldn't have lived without you, but I'm not so sure about not being able to." Ulquiorra smirked lightly, amused when he watched Grimmjow grit his teeth.

"Ah, wonderful turnout, isn't it?" Ukitake cheerfully butted into their conversation.

"Yeah, nice to know we have some people in Seireitei who don't totally hate our guts and want to see us lie in our own blood as soon as possible." The Sexta Espada nodded in fake seriousness.

"Also..." Ulquiorra turned to Soi Fon, who was watching them, and quickly turned away when she realized they'd locked gazes. "Thank you, Soi Fon, was it? We're indebted to you for saving our lives." He gently told her.

"Who said I did it for you? I did it for Yoruichi-sama!" she violently answered before disappearing in shunpo.

"Don't let her get to you." Yoruichi simply shrugged.

"Thanks." The Cuatra rolled his eyes.

"Oi oi oi, I have a good idea!" Kyoraku put a finger in the air. "As a celebration, we should organize a party, what do you say, Nanao-chan?" he asked, turning to his lieutenant, who simply adjusted her glasses and sighed.

"You're only looking for an alibi to drink."

"That may be so, but at least we're taking people down with us!" Kyoraku laughed cheerfully, taking Nanao's hand and tipping his straw hat. "Everyone must come! My sakura garden in an hour, see you all there!"

And he disappeared with his lieutenant in shunpo.

"Well then, what now?" Grimmjow crossed his arms, letting go of Ulquiorra to try standing on his own.

He never got to finish because that's when Kenpachi turned around, and in a flash, he had drawn his zanpakuto and had swung it at Grimmjow, who quickly jumped back and flipped over his hand, sliding back.

"Hey, are you crazy, you damn pirate?" he yelled, watching as the man dislodged his sword from the ground.

"Yey, go Ken-chan, go!" Yachiru cheered from his shoulder as Zaraki stepped towards Grimmjow, who was watching him wide-eyed.

"I think you and I will get along. Battle. Now." The man with the eyepatch grinned widely, raising his zanpakuto again.

"Hey, what the hell?" Grimmjow yelled, jumping back again and again until he hit a wall. His legs all but crumbled beneath him, and he evaded Zaraki's sword just in time, forcing a Sonido to reappear by Ichigo's and Ulquiorra's side. He stumbled a bit, letting his companion steady him, panting as he felt his mind darken. "Ichigo, the hell is up with this guy?" he looked at the weird man who was dislodging his sword from the wall.

"Zaraki, stop it! They don't even have their weapons and because of the chokers, they're not even in any condition to fight!" Ichigo yelled, staring firmly until the captain of the eleventh division sighed and sheathed his zanpakuto.

"Fine. But we will fight someday, both of you, mark my words."

And with that, he disappeared in shunpo as well.

"Well, I suggest we get these removed." Ulquiorra used his free hand to poke the choker that was practically squeezing his throat tight.

"Ah, I can do that!" Hanatarou smiled dumbly, pointing at his face. "The key to those is in the fourth squad barracks." He turned to his captain, who was watching with a gentle smile. "Taichou, can I let them rest in the barracks until Kyoraku-taichou's party?" he asked.

"Of course, Hanatarou. Just don't break anything." She smiled warmly again before shunpo-ing away, her lieutenant following quickly after.

"Alright then, follow me!" Hanatarou pumped his fist in the air and headed for the exit, both Ichigo and the Espada walking out after him.

"Alright everyone, catch ya later!" Grimmjow yelled with a smirk at everyone who had defended them, not even turning back as he waved.

"Yes, everyone, it was nice to meet you all. Thank you again, and we do hope to see you later." Ulquiorra bowed lightly before jogging to catch up with his friends.

What a wholly new and _awkward_ world they'd landed in this time. He couldn't help but think so as he caught up with his former rival, walking side by side with his former Espada comrade and a clueless little shinigami through the streets of Seireitei.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**THE CAKE IS A LIE. Sorry, I had to make that reference somewhere (: Sorry, sorry, you can beat me with a stick U.U  
**

**Alright, for research. May Tite Kubo bless Bleachpedia. If writing this chapter took 6 hours in total, 3 hours were spent on Bleachpedia doing research.**

**The reiatsu-draining chokers are my own creations, although they are possibilities since in the second OVA, the main antagonist had the power to drain reiatsu just by touching Ichigo. Also, Ichigo felt terribly weak afterwards, so that explains why Grimmjow's stumbling everywhere.**

**As for the way the Espada became Hollows? I created their pasts because there's nothing canon about that, and I also needed them to look good in front of the Gotenjuusantai O_o So yey, nice people becoming evil, how awesome is that? :D**

**Also, I tried to incorporate humor to all the heaviness in this chapter and laid off the angst. Most of the angst is concentrated in the cell scene, and you can tell it's not my usual type of angst. This one's... softer, if I can say it that way :/**

**If you thought Soi Fon was going to stay standing up, raise your hand :D *sees no one raising a hand* Good to know I can't write suspense and plot twists O_o**

**Also, if you want to know why everyone who stood by Grimmy's and Ulqui's side actually stood, then think. If you think real close, they all have a personal gain from it. Remember that the Espada have been close to Aizen, Gin and Tousen, and know some stuff...**

**Anyway, I won't spoil it any more for ya. Next time, Kyoraku's party (*pats Kyoraku on the head* Oh, Shun-chan, always looking for an alibi to get wasted *sighs*) and we delve deep into the Espada's time in Hueco Mundo.**

**Also, I need your opinions on how to get the various members of the squads to act about their defected captains or friends. Should they be touchy about the subject, or just not care, or maybe demand to know everything? I gotta know, cause next chappie's mostly dialogue between drunken!Shinigami and drunken!Espada :D Come on, where's the humor?**

**In any case, me stop spamming, me beg you to leave a review instead. PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEE REVIEW D: I worked REALLY HARD on this chappie and I'd appreciate it if I had feedback and/or constructive criticism and/or answers to the questions I asked. Also, don't bother flaming, cause then I'll just send Wonderweiss. It's super effective~**


	9. 8: Hold You Up and Steal Your Pain

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry I'm late. Good news is, school's finally over, so I can take more time to write :D Although I don't think the next update will come before Christmas, it'll come before the New Year for sure :3**

**Alright, so this chapter has a lot of angst to it. I tried to add some humor to dilute all the angstyness but it doesn't look like it worked out O_o Anyways, hope ya like it.**

**As usual, a huuuuge thanks to all my wonderful, beautiful, amazing reviewers, who were kind enough to take the time to leave their thoughts ^^ Thanks, Sath-chan-Blues-Kitty, Kakushi Miko, Razzer, Yamapikarya, deadpoolhulk, CoolGirl150, Kyrial Halcoryn, Hotaru-Jaegerjacquez and Pantera-6 :D Really nice reviews, really appreciate them ^^**

**Warning: swearing in this one ^^ Don't mind it, though, and enjooy~**

* * *

"I want more sake!" Grimmjow groaned as he rolled over on his stomach, holding out his cup for a refill. Matsumoto cheerfully poured him some and giggled as he drank hastily and groaned, slamming his head back down on the sheet they were all sitting on.

Basically, it was more of a drunk-fest than a party. Kyoraku's courtesy, of course. Ichigo stood away from the drinks as he was clearly underage, but Ulquiorra accepted a couple of shots. Grimmjow, on the other hand...

"Watch out!" Matsumoto laughed, suddenly tripping and falling over the Arrancar. Grimmjow's eyes went comically wide before Matsumoto fell on him, crushed by her weight. He coughed and flailed his arms from under her while she simply laughed.

"Damn it, woman, get off me!" he wheezed, trying to push her off as she simply laughed. The two struggled for a while until the watchers decided to help the poor guy. Kira got up and struggled to pull Rangiku and all her weight up while Ulquiorra grabbed Grimmjow and pulled him out from under her.

"Well then, that was... interesting." The blue-haired Espada rubbed his temples, feeling a headache creeping into his drunken mind.

"Oh!" Matsumoto finally sat down, and when she did, she tipped the bottle upside down, only to find that only a drop of alcohol was left. Her face immediately changed into one of disappointment. "The sake's finished!"

"Why is the sake always gone?" the Sexta whined, hitting his forehead against the ground once before laying still. His cheeks had taken a light pink tinge and he swayed even while sitting.

"I know, right? That's exactly what I was thinking!" Matsumoto gasped.

"Ah, Nanao-chan, could you go get more sake for our guests?" Shunsui hiccupped, poking his lieutenant.

"Yes, Taichou..." The girl sighed in desperation and got up to fulfill her captain's wishes.

"Oi, how about you stop drinking and start talking?" Hitsugaya finally interrupted, annoyed at how close the Arrancar's reactions were to his own lieutenant's when she was drunk.

"What am I supposed to talk about? Hi, I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjacques, I died and became a Hollow seventeen years ago, and so, I'm seventeen years old, I live in Ichigo's house with my best friends and I like cats and destroying things." He hiccupped. "Done."

"Not introductions, baka, talk!" the tenth squad captain growled, burying his hands in the opposite sleeves.

"Grimmjow, I do believe they mean information about Aizen." Ulquiorra whispered in his ear, slightly tipsy. Ichigo simply face-palmed from their side.

"AH, Aizen-teme." Grimmjow stood unmoving for a second, gathering whatever blurry memories he had. "He hides that jewel, what's it called again? Holoku? Jojyoku? Go-"

"Hogyouku." Ukitake sighed desperately, sweat dropping as Shunsui laughed drunkenly.

"Ah, yeah, the Hogyouku." Grimmjow nodded and pushed himself up in a sitting position. "I remember that the one he hides in that secret box thing in his room isn't the real one." He turned to Ulquiorra for guidance.

"Yeah, I think... Right, right." Something clicked in his head. "I do remember seeing him with the Hogyouku implanted right in his chest. He's already absorbed it, I believe, and is waiting for it to awaken."

"Damn it." Hitsugaya gritted his teeth.

"We're too late..." Komamura mused out loud.

"Ne, ne, Grimmjow-kun." Kyoraku laughed, ruffling said-Arrancar's hair. The latter was simply too drunk to swat him away correctly. "Why are you so willing to share critical information like this to us? Just curious."

"Bastard's tried to kill Ulquiorra and I, why in hell wouldn't I turn on him?" he seethed, clutching his fists tightly.

"Betrayed by your superior." Hinamori simply whispered for the first and last time in the entire conversation.

"Like bloody hell." The blue-haired teen growled.

"What about Tousen?" Hisagi asked warily.

"Tousen was like his friggin lapdog or something!" The blue-haired Espada fell back against the ground, slamming his spinal area on the thin sheet with a dry thud.

"Oh yes, I agree, for once. Tousen followed him around everywhere." Ulquiorra agreed with a shaky nod. "He really did look loyal at 101 percent. He did everything Aizen asked him to do and followed the rules to the letter. I don't think I've ever felt so... choked before. With someone else than Aizen, of course."

"Tousen friggin cut my arm off once cause he felt like it!" Grimmjow imitated a choking hold. "It all went 'Hi, Tousen! How are you today?' and he went '...Bitch.' and POOF, next thing I know, my left arm is a pile of smoldering ashes on the ground." He growled, clutching said arm self-consciously.

"Thank Kami for high speed regeneration..." the Cuatra simply commented.

"Kami?" there was an amused glint sparkling in Ukitake's eyes as he questioned him.

"Yes, Kami. God. Why?" Ulquiorra blinked, finally catching on. "You were expecting me to say _Aizen,_ right?"

"Yes, somewhat."

"Not anymore. Never has been and never will be." Grimmjow spat, refusing to say the defected shinigami's name.

"Was Gin also that sticky to Aizen?" Rangiku silently questioned.

"Gin was different. If I didn't know better, I'd say he never actually liked Aizen and was maybe forced to comply?" his eyes darkened. "Just like most of the people who lived in Hueco Mundo..." he added in a breath just above a whisper.

There was an awkward, uncomfortable silence as the two defected Shinigamis' friends debated what they'd heard, coming up with more or less satisfying conclusions.

"What about Hueco Mundo? What's it like over there?" Kiyone completely changed the subject seeing as none of the captains and vice-captains present had anything to add.

"It's boring as hell." Surprisingly, Ulquiorra was the first to reply. "It's just sand outside the walls of Las Noches. Sand, sand, sand as far as the eye can see. Below the sand is the Menos forest, not exactly a charming place, though. It's always night there, it's depressing, truthfully." He whispered.

"Coming from the most emo Arrancar of them all." Grimmjow snickered drunkenly.

"Shut up, you loud-mouthed bastard." Ulquiorra cursed, making Ichigo gasp. Never had he heard the Cuatra say such things before.

"Las Noches is pretty much the same thing." Grimmjow moved on. "It's big, with walls plain white and black ornaments. There are no decorations, all the windows have bars on them, and it's too complicated. And boring." He growled in frustration, ruffling his hair. "And the dorm rooms, ugh, worst places ever."

"Oh yes, small, damp rooms with creaky beds and tight bathrooms, a small barred window and one closet." Ulquiorra shuddered.

"And then you wonder why he's so emo." The Sexta chuckled, getting the Cuatra to sloppily punch him in the upper arm. "Then again, can't blame him, the food's disgusting." He stuck a tongue out and crossed his arms.

"Ideally, Hueco Mundo is not the best place to go on a honeymoon vacation." The Cuatra quipped silently, cracking a few smiles in the audience.

"What about Gin? And Tousen? How did they go about on their normal lives?" Kira asked shakily.

"Uhhh..." Grimmjow massaged his forehead. "Tousen was stuck to Aizen 24/7, but Gin was the lively one around the place." He relived wistfully.

"Oh yes, Ichimaru-san..." Ulquiorra whispered nostalgically. Everyone massed around them noted the honourable suffix at the end with surprise. "He had more privileges than us, so he caused chaos around Las Noches to entertain us to some degree, that is, until Aizen-teme told him to stop goofing around. He'd just restart a couple of days later, though." He smiled lightly.

"Oh yeah, once he shot a Hado or something at one of the towers and blew it up just cause he felt like it. Bet Aizen was pissed as hell even though he never showed it." Grimmjow laughed.

His laughter slowly died down, though, as he recalled Gin's dead eyes, open wide as he was tossed onto the ground in front of the fleeing Espada, causing them to panic and try harder to escape. His throat locked, and he decided not to talk too much to avoid sounding so choked up.

"And then he just went up and died." He simply added, hanging his head.

A dead silence followed them, infecting the entire crowd of high-class shinigami around them.

"Then tell us, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra." Ichigo's voice made everyone's heads fly up to look at him, surprised. "Was it really THAT hard to live in Hueco Mundo?"

"It was already bad enough even before we met the bastard, and it only..." the Sexta's voice dropped down to a mere pained whisper. He was too drunk to even think correctly, so it felt like the words just fell out of his mouth. "It only got worse." He suddenly clutched his heart and winced, doubling over. Ulquiorra quickly kneeled at his side and bent over to gaze impassively at his scrunched up face.

"What's wrong, Grimmjow?"

"Sake's probably just getting to my heart." He growled. "Fuck! Ah, it hurts!" he hissed.

"I think you drank enough for today." The older Arrancar decided, pushing away all nearby bottles.

"Fuck, no, if I drink, the pain will leave. It's always been like that!" he reached out for a bottle, only to be tackled down by the Cuatra, who sat on his stomach a bit further up from his Hollow Hole and pinned his wrists to the ground.

"That's enough, Grimmjow. You are a living being, and are prone to physical malfunctions as any other soul is." He berated, making the Sexta huff out. The Cuatra simply sighed and got off him, turning around. "It seems like Grimmjow, and even I, a little, have had too much sake to behave coherently anymore. We'd require taking our leave promptly before any of us gets violent-" he had to stop to push Grimmjow back down to the ground with his foot. "And breaks anything, or anyone."

"Alright, you can use one of the rooms in my mansion, if you like." Kyoraku suggested, pointing backwards at the large building.

"Thanks. I'll escort them." Ichigo got up and watched in slight amusement as Ulquiorra bent down and picked Grimmjow up on his shoulder, ignoring him as he cursed and repeated he could walk.

Obviously, he couldn't, which is why the older Arrancar made the effort to carry him. He briefly turned around and bowed.

"Excuse us."

And with Grimmjow wiggling in his grip like vice, Ulquiorra walked off behind Ichigo, leaving behind a whole bunch of pondering, surprised and amused shinigami to watch them leave.

Ichigo escorted them inside and into an empty room, opening the sliding door to reveal two bedrolls. Ulquiorra headed for one and dropped Grimmjow roughly on one, watching him wince and whine before laying down on the bed next to him.

"What the hell was that for, Ulquiorra?" the blue-haired teen growled, glaring.

"You are too drunk to control your limits, Grimmjow. You said your heart hurt, right?"

"Right..."

"You know why it's hurting, right?"

"... Right..."

"You were about to tell the entire world why your heart hurt. Would you like that to happen? Cause I can just throw you back out there unsupervised, and the moment you get your hands on a bottle of sake, poof: all our secrets are gone. What will we be left with? Nothing. We'll become lowest of the low, even dirtier than we already are, do you _want_ that to happen, Grimmjow?" he questioned aggressively, ignoring Ichigo, who was calmly listening to their whispered conversation, assessing their words.

"N-No... Never..." the Sexta's eyes widened, and he dropped his gaze to the ground shamefully. "Thanks, guess I owe ya again."

"No, no, it's fine. If you can't protect yourself, Sexta, it is my duty as the ex-Cuatra to protect you."

"Why?" he suddenly screamed, slamming his fist on the ground, splintering the wood. "Why do I always have to be protected? I hate this feeling of being weak! I don't wanna be protected anymore!" his fists clenched and unclenched and he calmed down gradually, panting. His head hurt, and he didn't even wanna think about the upcoming hangover.

Ulquiorra simply waited calmly until Grimmjow was done, watching him coolly. Ichigo took a step forward, going unnoticed by the two Ex-Espada, wondering just what the hell was going on as a subliminal message between the two.

"Are you done?" Ulquiorra finally asked.

"Why?" he simply whispered out with a shuddering breath. "Ulquiorra, do you think I'm really that weak?" he raised his eyes and pleadingly looked at the Cuatra's face, making the latter's heart leap.

"My head says yes, my heart says no. Up to you to choose which one to believe in." He shook his head negatively.

"Why?"

"You are only younger than me, Grimmjow, it's natural that you have had less time to train and grow. Besides, you were only taken in by Aizen when you were 15, I've been training for him ever since I was 8. There is a large power gap between us..." he gently put a pale hand on Grimmjow's hand, offering comfort. "But don't despair. I know that neither one of us can come close to defeating Aizen right now, so it should be our primary goal to get stronger. We're not alone, Grimmjow." He let himself offer the distraught Espada a smile, making those blue eyes widen in surprise. "Not anymore, we aren't..."

"Everything is..." the Sexta gulped down and looked away with a slight blush. "It's changing so quickly... I don't think I can keep up anymore..."

"Of course you can. All you need is a nudge in the right direction." The Cuatra sighed and looked behind Grimmjow, out the window, watching the white blossoms float down from the trees, swept by the breeze. "That's why we're here, Grimmjow. They're the ones who are gonna nudge us in the right direction. The Captains, the Vice-Captains... Ichigo... They're all gonna be there to show us what way to go now that we've lost our black light in the dark."

If Grimmjow wanted to reply, he never got the chance because Ichigo's footsteps finally clattered audibly as he dropped down next to them, glaring.

"I'm tired of you two keeping secrets from everyone and expecting them to help without knowing what to help with." He simply stated like it was nothing at all. "Tell me. This pain you're always talking about. Tell me what it is. I can't alleviate it, I can't share your burdens if you don't tell me what they are." His chocolate brown eyes softened, melting the rough facades the Ex-Espada had been keeping up. "Please... Tell me what's on your mind..."

"It's very hardcore..." Grimmjow snorted, turning his eyes to the wooden ceiling.

"Yes, it's not a pleasant fairytale." Ulquiorra morosely agreed with a nod.

"I can take it. It's your pain. If it's that bad, why should you bear it alone? You don't deserve that. I want to understand you... Both of you." Ichigo half-pleaded gently.

"Well then, Ulquiorra, should we tell him?" Grimmjow whispered, once again delving deep into his isolated world with his fellow Arrancar, blocking out the young shinigami for the moment.

"I don't know, Grimmjow, do you feel comfortable?"

"This is Ichigo we're talking about. We can trust him."

"He used to be your greatest enemy, you know."

"He never was."

"Well then."

The two of them suddenly turned to Ichigo, staring straight into his eyes, startling him with their gazes.

Pained... no, agonising, was the word that best described them. The blue and green eyes that were staring at him, they'd lost their shine a long time ago. Glazed over, unfeeling, cold. Just by looking deep into them, one could tell of the hardships they'd come to pass, and the pain they'd come to endure. Such young, pure, innocent, beautiful, _tainted_ eyes. Having witnessed so much bloodshed and horrors that they no longer knew what to react to. They briefly glinted in the sun, giving them a pale, energetic glow, but looking deeper, you could easily tell that was not the case.

"How should we put this in a way that won't make us look like totally incapable, weak and defenceless victims?" Grimmjow ruffled his hair, looking kind of embarrassed.

Ulquiorra decided to cut to the chase and finally broke the ice.

"Aizen is a manipulator. And not just that, but a sick-minded, psychotic, evil, sadistic, abusive compulsive manipulator."

If Ichigo was surprised, which he surely was, he didn't show it, striving to keep up a cool front in front of the obviously-embarrassed Espada. He had to make them feel safe if he wanted to share their pain.

"He likes order and calm, and will stop at nothing to get it. He also does not tolerate weakness and will punish anyone who shows weakness. He shows general 'care', if that's what I can call it, for everyone in Las Noches, but in truth, he's just playing with our minds. He likes discovering and experimenting, even if it costs a lot for other people. He doesn't even care about anyone but himself. He'll kill, hurt, torture, just to get what he wants." Ulquiorra summed up.

"Punishment..." Ichigo slightly dwelled on the word, making Grimmjow wince visibly. "Y-You mean-" Something, an old remark, clicked in his head, but before he could say it, Grimmjow beat him to the punch.

"Yes, most of the time, it was corporal punishment. He beat, kicked, whipped and cut anyone who did something that went against his rules."

"T-That's what I saw that other time." Ichigo whispered in a trembling voice, eyes wide. "T-Those marks on your backs when I healed you the first time, t-they were-"

"Whip marks, yes." Grimmjow ruffled his hair, embarrassed that they were actually telling Ichigo all their secrets.

"Is that why you were so aggressive towards me? So you didn't show weakness and consequentially avoided punishment?"

"Yes, and no. I was aggressive cause I knew that I was being compared to you. That you were stronger than me and made me look weak in Aizen's eyes. And that weakness was what caused me pain time and time again. So I swore to defeat you so that I could escape that pain. That is all." He muttered, embarrassed. The ever so violent Sexta Espada, pouring his heart out to his sworn enemy? Yeah, for a moment there, Grimmjow thought he even saw a green pig fly by their window.

"Sorry..." Ichigo self-consciously lowered his head, feeling guilty.

"Why in hell are you apologizing for being strong?" Ulquiorra sighed, face palming. "You should be happy to know that even Aizen recognized your strength."

"Aizen's views mean nothing to me. I hurt you two, and that's all that counts." He muttered, downcast.

"Stupid, don't you realize it yet?" Grimmjow smacked him over the head, receiving a surprised glare from the orange-haired teen. "This pain was what made us aim for greater heights. It's thanks to this pain that we grew. It's thanks to you that we became stronger."

"If you say so... Is that all?" Ichigo inquired.

"No, well, Aizen also experimented on Arrancars' abilities, frequently using Espada as test subjects, and sometimes even just hit us cause he felt like it, but asides that, nothing much." Ulquiorra shrugged.

"That really does sound unfair." Ichigo winced. "But is that all? Are you sure you won't hurt anymore if I let you go in the state you are now?"

"Yes... but no." Ulquiorra sighed. "It's not all, and yet, there is no way any of us can formulate the words to tell you the rest as it would hurt too much."

"I don't think I could say anything more without losing the nerve to look you in the eye ever again." Grimmjow agreed with a nod.

"Then how am I supposed to help you lift your burdens?"

"Close your eyes." Grimmjow instructed. "And I'll give you thirty seconds. What do you think of when I pronounce the word... pain?" Ichigo's brows immediately scrunched as he imagined all the things that led him to that word.

Horrible, sadistic, scary, bloody things were going down in his mind, and he shuddered, wondering even how he even had the nerve to think up of all those atrocities. Was he as far gone as Aizen? Had he really the heart to commit all those horrible things if he could imagine them...?

"Stop. Open your eyes." Grimmjow finally ordered, getting Ichigo to look at him with a gasp, horror swirling in his eyes. He dreaded what the point of the exercise was as he already had an idea of Grimmjow's next words. "Everything you imagined in these mere 30 seconds, that's what Aizen did to the Espada during his free time." The Sexta smiled sadly.

"I... I see..." Ichigo nodded, shaken. Unwilling to admit he truly was horrified of what his mind had concocted up, he simply shook his head and tried to clear the shroud of darkness in his mind. "Well then, I do hope that is all..."

"Yes." Ulquiorra suddenly let out a short laugh, as if amused by Ichigo's reaction, also drawing a surprised look by both of his companions. "That is all. No need to poison your mind any further."

"True, true..." Grimmjow stretched and suddenly flopped down against his sheets, turning away from them. "Alright then, Imma catch some sleep now. Beware the hangover, Ulqui-kun."

"Baka." Said Espada offered Grimmjow's back a light smile and amusedly punched him in the arm. He then turned to Ichigo and lightly bowed his head. "Alright, I think I shall retire as well." Ulquiorra nodded and flopped down next to him, giving his back to Grimmjow's back, facing Ichigo.

"Alright." Ichigo slightly moved to retreat in the corner, and wrapped his arms around his legs, watching the Espada drift off to a drunken sleep. "Don't worry. We'll get stronger, we all will. With Soul Society's cooperation, we can gain access to many different sparring partners and lots of training facilities. One way or another, we will ban this weakness of which you are afraid. I myself will personally make sure that you never hurt ever again..."

His eyes wandered to the peaceful Espada. They looked so calm... at ease... It felt kinda weird, knowing that only a month ago, they were the ones who would've done anything to have his head roll on the ground. Then again, he enjoyed the feeling of ease that washed over him as he stared at their gently rising and falling chests, he enjoyed it almost as much as the thrill of the fight.

All that, and still no movement, asides from their relaxed forms. He didn't know if they were already asleep or if they were listening to all his random spouts of hope, but it didn't matter to him as long as he heard it coming from his own mouth. He had to make sure he'd actually sworn it and not just imagined it.

This time, it was a promise he couldn't afford to break.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**"Why is the rum always gone?"~ Jack Sparrow. Yey for references ^^**

**Matsumoto rape Grimmjow. The pairing name would be MatsuGrimm xDD Poor Hitsugaya, he must be like "UGHHHH". Also, I ADORE Gin (SQUEEEEEE, GIN~~), and I HATE bastard Tousen (mainly for cutting off Grimmy's arm so unfairly Q_Q)  
**

**I think this is the before-last chapter ._. I mean, I don't really have much left to say, I just wanted lots of Espada angst |3 Sooo... next chapter will be the last... I guess. I wanna finish this story before the new year so that in 2011, I can start a NEW Bleach fanfic, more like an AU highschool one this time :D There just aren't enough good ones these days Q_Q**

**I know that totally wasn't what you were expecting. It wasn't what I was expecting after all. I thought I'd have an entire chapter on the party, but guess not. I don't like how this turned out, but hey, the story's drawing its end, so I guess the suckishness can be neglected this time xD**

**Rawr, okay then, too much seriousness makes my brain hurt. I should lighten up. After all, this was only a practice fic. **

**Are you gaping yet? Yes, this is just a practice fic. Like a doodle or a sketch. I just wrote this fic cause I wanted to practice my skills with the Bleach fandom before starting my real, main story. I already have a title in mind, it's gonna be called "Behind Tinted Windows" or the abbreviation, BTW (which is also the word for By The Way xD)**

**Anyways, I won't spoil it for ya, but I do hope you'll follow that story too, unless you don't like highschool fics D: Oh, and guess who the three main chars are, plus a surprise appearance from someone I really really like as well. Send in your guesses by reviewing! Whoever gets all four of them right can have a virtual cookie and a hug *_***

**Anyways, thank you soo much for the awesome reviews, and could I ask you one before-last time to review? If you do, I promise that money will rain from the sky~ Also, Merry Christmas in advance since I know I won't be updating till after Christmas xD SO yep, yep, PLEASE REVIEW, HAPPY HOLIDAYZZ, AND THANKS FOR READIN' :3**


	10. 9: Learning to Live

**Author's Notes:**

**Hello everyone. It's me again, for the last time in this story (unless I decide to make an epilogue that'll come in like, 782y452822p9 years, if ever).**

**Well, I did it. I finally finished it, the dreaded chapter. AND, before the New Year. Bonus~ Although I would have appreciated finishing this before New Year's Eve, too. With all the work I have, I don't know if I could have made it earlier, though.**

**Anyways, for the very last time, I would like to thank all the lovely people who reviewed. All their comments gave me inspiration and the will to write. Thank you so much, Kakushi Miko, Razzer, GryphonWonder14, PCOrigami, Caty starcatcher, COOL ULQUIGRIMM FANFIC. LOVER, CoolGirl150 and Yamapikarya. I really would've liked reaching a 100 reviews with you, but seeing as this is a practice fic with pretty much no specific plot, I didn't expect it to, in the first place. **

**I made this chapter super special awesome and LONG so that you guys can leave the story with a satisfied note. And so, without further ado, I present to you the 9000 last words to this story.**

**Warning: Cursing cause Hiyori is there D:**

**

* * *

**Time flies fast when you're fighting to evolve. A minute can feel like a second. A day could feel like an hour. A month could feel like a couple of weeks.

To all three of the young teenagers, it only seemed like they'd been fighting, training arduously for about three weeks. Sweating, bleeding and struggling for three weeks. Then again, you lose all notions of time when you're holed up in an underground training cave where it's always sunny. And so, according to their own senses of time, they trained for three weeks. Who knows what duration of time they actually were in there, but that is something that will never be known.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing together rang out in the air, echoing slightly before disappearing, quickly replaced by another clash between two weapons. The two zanpakuto clashed a couple more times at neck-breaking speed, and the two opponents retreated to their sides to recover a little.

"How long..." Ichigo panted. "Have we been at this...?"

"I don't know..." Ulquiorra was trying to hide the fact that he was out of breath, but the slight slouch in his shoulders was enough to say he was almost as tired as Ichigo.

"Long enough, when is it gonna be my turn?" Grimmjow whined from below them, launching a Bala at a rock in the distance, making it explode.

"You can take my place if ya like." Ichigo suggested.

"Gladly." In less than a second, Grimmjow was at his side, tapping Pantera idly against his shoulder. "Now, where do we start?"

"Anywhere you'd like, dear Grimmjow." Ulquiorra simply answered, instantly going into battle mode with Murciélago drawn and pointed.

"Well then... We can start here."

And he was gone. Ulquiorra whipped around just in time to block an attack from behind and jumped back as the blue-haired Espada sped into a series of sonido, reappearing to his sides and back, forcing Ulquiorra to drop into a defensive series of manoeuvres. Ichigo simply eased himself down to the rocky ground and sat down with a sigh, dropping on his back and watching the two Ex-Espada's airborne fight.

"You've certainly gotten faster, that's for sure." Ulquiorra commented between breaths as he spotted Grimmjow incoming from his right. He quickly turned around to greet him with the tip of his sword, but just before impact, Grimmjow disappeared again, reappearing on his left, swinging.

The Cuatra could only duck completely to the 'ground' and then twist around to swipe at Grimmjow's legs. The Sexta, wearing his trademark grin, sonido-ed and reappeared a little further away, roughly pushing Pantera in his palm.

"So, you've finally learned how to double-step, huh?" The Cuatra commented, turning around to meet his amused gaze.

"Don't say it like you're the expert. You only just learned it, too." Grimmjow grinned, a blue glow appearing in his outstretched palm. "Now watch this. GRAN REY CERO!"

"Childish technique. You should already know that I, and even more so Aizen, are all too familiar with this technique." The emotionless Arrancar simply raised his hand in anticipation for the bright blue Cero coming his way. His finger's tip lit up with black light, its sides crackling with green energy. "Cero Oscuras."

With a deafening noise, the black Cero shot itself out of Ulquiorra's fingertip, making a wall in front of its user to protect him from the incoming Cero blast. The two Ceros fought to overpower one another quite fiercely as they met, making Ulquiorra sigh.

"Grimmjow, your Cero is still weak. You need to work on it."

"Whoever said I was aiming to hit you with that?"

If the Cuatra's eyes widened, they only did so by a mere fraction as the two Ceros finally cancelled each other out, letting in the impressive sight of the Sexta Espada, barrelling through towards Ulquiorra. He quickly swung Pantera in a horizontal arc to try and cut Ulquiorra at his face's level, making the Espada gasp.

At the velocity at which the zanpakuto was arriving, there was no way in hell he could dodge now. And if he took that hit directly to the face, there's no way he'd survive. He didn't even have time to raise Murciélago to block.

So instead, he opted for falling back. It was a crude movement and had too many holes in it to be used during a serious battle like this, but it was either this, or being cut up on the spot.

He opted for the dangerous option then, legs immediately crumpling beneath him, sending him on a crash course on his back. Grimmjow's zanpakuto passed so swiftly, so closely, that Ulquiorra even heard the sizzling noise of air being cut as it came towards him, the light crunching noise as it cut through a couple of strands of black hair that were unfortunate enough to stand in its way, and the cold bite of the metal as it lightly graved his forehead, making a small, shallow wound on its surface.

Ulquiorra continued his fall unhindered, letting himself impact with the fake ground they'd made themselves and roll, flipping back and sonido-ing a safe distance away.

Both Arrancars panting, they examined each other for a moment. Ulquiorra slowly brought a hand to his forehead and wiped some of the blood welling on his cut, bringing his pale hand down and staring at the vital substance lodging itself within the crooks and folds of his skin.

"Congratulations, Grimmjow." He solemnly announced, making the Sexta's grin grow larger at the praise. "Your technique is very well coordinated and thought out. Your only problem would be your mouth. Don't announce what you're doing next time, just do it." He wiped his bloody hand on his pristine white Espada uniform and sheathed Murciélago. "

"Well then, what's my newest rank?" the Sexta asked, not paying attention to anyone else than Ulquiorra as Ichigo flew up to their side to hear it.

"Well, I do believe that with all the training we've undergone, our techniques are still the same, yet our reiatsu, speed and zanpakuto control have evolved to reach about five times higher than our time with Aizen."

"That would put you two in what place?" Ichigo inquired.

"That would make our current abilities large enough to rival Starrk's, if he were still alive." Ulquiorra pronounced the words without a hint of sadness, and Grimmjow grinned, not a hint of despair in his eyes. Ichigo smiled. After so long... they'd finally learned to move on.

"Primera Espada, then?" the Sexta grinned. "I like that title. Call me Primera from now on." He laughed his trademark psychotic laugh.

"I cannot do that for it is officially unsure if we have reached, or even surpassed that level yet. Therefore, I will continue considering you as the Sexta Espada, and I expect to be treated like the Cuatra Espada." Ulquiorra explained, turning around and slowly easing himself down to firm ground. "That is all."

"Pffff, killjoy." Grimmjow sighed and sheathed his zanpakuto, following his comrades down to the rocky ground.

"Well, I do believe we're done for now. It should already be dark outside." Ulquiorra commented as he landed on his feet with a soft thud, faltering only slightly with exhaustion before straightening again.

"Yeah, let's go home. I bet Yuzu's gonna be really mad if we don't get home in time for dinner again." Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as the three of them moved towards the ladder that led out.

"Even more imposing than Aizen are your little sisters, Ichigo." Grimmjow shook his head amusedly. "And scarier than Aizen is your dad."

"I agree with the statement about my dad." They made another effort to sonido and shunpo all the way to the top and closed the trap once they were out. "He can be scary at times. But my little sisters? Imposing?" he laughed, heading for the gigai and his human body put against the wall.

He gently touched the shoulder of his human body and returned into it promptly, a gesture mimicked by the two Espada. He stretched his tired limbs, and finally smirked when Grimmjow and Ulquiorra got up too, dusting themselves off.

"My little sisters are far from imposing."

Grimmjow never had the chance to tell him how wrong he was because that's when the orange-haired teen's cellphone vibrated.

"Excuse me." Ichigo checked caller ID and sighed, swiping his thumb on the touch screen to answer. "Hello?"

"ICHI-NII, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Holy hell, Yuzu!" he cursed into the phone, holding it away from his ear. "What's wrong?"

"YOU'RE LATE FOR DINNER ICHI-NII! YOU! AND ULQUIORRA! AND GRIMMJOW!" she yelled, making Ichigo cringe and the two Espada snicker.

"You three better bring your sorry butts over here right this instant or I swear I'll kill you for making us wait. It's been over an hour, you know, idiot." Karin's voice added to Yuzu's scolding.

"An hour?" Ichigo panicked, checking the time on the wall. "Listen, Karin, Yuzu, I'm sorry, I-" he cringed as the two sisters said something to him. Grimmjow grinned. At least they weren't yelling anymore... "Listen, listen, we'll be there in ten minutes, okay? Yes, I-" he winced again. "Yes, sorry, sorry. Yes Yuzu. Yes. No, don't worry. Yes. Okay, bye. Yes, now bye." He sighed, closing the phone with a long, tired sigh and hanging his head.

"Now, you were saying something about your sisters not being imposing, I believe." Ulquiorra quipped with a small smile, making Grimmjow burst out in laughter. Ichigo simply glared at both of them and slipped the cellphone into his pocket, heading for the front door to Urahara's shop.

"You're leaving?" suddenly came the voice of said shopkeeper as he came down the stairs that led to the second floor.

"Yes, Yuzu and Karin will skin me alive if we don't get there soon. Thanks for the training cave again, Urahara." Ichigo winced, opening the front door.

"Yeah, thanks." The two Espada nodded to his as acknowledgement and stepped out into the darkness of the falling night.

"Ah, the joys of being house guests." Grimmjow snickered, following Ichigo.

"You're not that much of a house guest, you know." Said carrot-head muttered. "You have chores to do and have to take rounds helping us at the clinic, too." He smiled lightly. "It's like... you're part of the family already..."

"Us?" Grimmjow's brow raised in surprise. "Hey, your sisters still believe we're friends of yours who have lost their parents and have come to crash with you until we find our other relatives. They just consider us as passing guests, that's all."

"You kidding me? Karin and Yuzu are practically begging you to act as a part of this family, not that you aren't already..." he sighed. "We should seriously clear some space in the storage room and furnish it to give you guys a room soon."

"You don't have to. We came this long crashing at the foot of your bed, so we can go forever like that." Ulquiorra shrugged as they got onto the main street, walking hurriedly home.

"No, no, you'll be staying forever with us, right? As much as I love having you two hogging the space in my room, I think it's time we gave each other some space." He winced amusedly. "Don't worry, the storage room's comfy. You'll sleep upright with the brooms, won't that be nice?"

"Yes, so very nice." Ulquiorra rolled his eyes amusedly.

"So nice that I'll surely insist you come sleep with us in our beautiful storage room. We can imitate broomsticks together." Grimmjow snickered, making the entire group crack a smile.

"Not but seriously, guys. Ever since you got here on the very day when I took you in... You've been a part of this family." He turned around and flashed them a brief smile before turning back and speeding up again, making the two Espada jog to catch up to him.

"You know you're very melodramatic with your words?" the Sexta, of course, was the one to comment.

"I know, I know." Ichigo laughed, turning a corner. "Oh good, we're almost there. Hopefully, Yuzu won't eat my head right off my shoulders as soon as we get in."

"Hmmm, I think I'll just stand by and watch. Maybe point and laugh too, for a few kicks." The Sexta grinned psychotically, making the youngest teen roll his eyes amusedly.

They went the rest of the way in silence, simply enjoying the small pleasures like the sound of whooshing wind trough the leaves on the blooming spring trees, the sound of cars passing by them, the smell that rain leaves after its decent wafting around them...

These were pleasures of life that the Espada had never learned to appreciate, and now, with their time in the real world, they'd finally learned to enjoy little things that made life worth living.

And once they defeated Aizen... they'd have all the time in the world to stop and gaze at the bright stars.

Ichigo opened the door with a small creak and quickly stepped inside to let his friends come in as well. They all wiped their boots on the front carpet and removed them, setting them neatly next to the door, and then strode inside.

"Hey guys, we're ho-"

He suddenly yelped in a non-manly way and ducked just as his father came sailing across with a kick, missing him by only a hair and crashing into the table, moaning.

"What the hell, dad?" Ichigo yelled. "What are you trying to do, break my nose or something?"

"No, Ichigo dear, I'm just trying to hone your reflexes, AND punish you for making the girls and I wait for dinner again!" he faked sobbing and pulled out a picture of his deceased wife, cuddling it. "Masakiiiii, why are your sons so cold to me?"

"Sons?" Ulquiorra finally spoke, mildly surprised.

"Of course, sons, Ulquiorra. What other term would I use to define you, Grimmjow and Ichigo. Daughters?" he asked, then turned to his picture again, kissing it affectionately. "Masakiiiii, your boys are so adorable!"

"Uhhh..." Grimmjow inched towards Ichigo a little, creeped out. Did Ichigo's dad just call them his... sons?

"Like I said, guys." Ichigo smirked triumphantly and strode into the kitchen, his friends immediately following suit. "Welcome to the family!"

"ICHI-NII!"

"Ah shit." Ichigo turned his head and froze when he saw the glare his little sister was drilling him with. "Y-Yes Yuzu...?"

"Ichi-nii, you're LATE!" she yelled "I called you SIX times and you didn't answer! You're one hour late for dinner and we had to wait for you!" she yelled, then turned her glare to the Espada, who stopped snickering and started cowering in front of her imposing presence. "And you two! Why didn't you remind him he was late?" she crossed her arms and pouted angrily.

"Ah, s-sorry, Yuzu-chan." Grimmjow blushed and rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "We never saw the time pass..."

"Fine..." the girl sighed and finally pulled a chair to sit down. "Ichi-nii, you're lucky you have Ulquiorra and Grimmjow to defend you. Now come on everyone, dinner is served!" she smiled as if nothing had happened, freezing the three teens in place at her sudden mood swings. They only moved when Isshin came barrelling through the door and practically jumped in his place, yelling on the top of his lungs that he was hungry as hell. Yuzu was only too happy to oblige.

They all ate in semi-silence, only answering to questions thrown to each other. The teenagers, exhausted from the entire day of sparring, simply ate and decided to retire early to get lots of sleep. Tomorrow being a Sunday, they'd have time to spar again before Ichigo having to go to school on Monday.

"Hey Ulquiorra, have you seen my toothbrush?" Ichigo scrambled as all three of them cramped themselves in front of the mirror to brush their teeth after having taken turns in the shower.

"I'm sure I saw it lying somewhere here..." said Espada muttered, spitting out the pale blue toothpaste and fumbling through all the toothbrushes in the small cup on top of the sink where everyone kept their toothbrushes.

"Isn't it there?" Grimmjow answered instead, pointing at the windowsill next to the bathtub. Ichigo's attention turned to it and his eyes brightened once he spotted an orange toothbrush just lying there, wet from the previous uses of the shower.

"Thanks." He simply nodded, grabbing his toothbrush and the toothpaste just as Ulquiorra stepped out of the bathroom and Grimmjow spit into the sink, gargling with water before spitting that out too and wincing.

"God, this human paste for cleaning teeth tastes bad." He complained.

"S'nat s'possed ta be yummeh." Ichigo muttered through his toothpaste as he spit out and winced as well. "But you're right. It is repulsive."

"I find it quite intriguing." Ulquiorra butted in, popping his head through the doorsill and nodding along with his claim.

There was a small, awkward silence as everyone stared incredulously at Ulquiorra, who looked back confusedly.

"Well then." Ichigo finally sighed and filled his cup up with water to gargle. "That solves the case of the missing toothpaste."

"Oh? My apologies, I never meant to finish the entire tube." He muttered semi-apologetically.

"Ulquiorra, you're not supposed to eat toothpaste. You're supposed to brush your teeth with it, nothing more, nothing less." Ichigo put a hand to his forehead in exasperation as Ulquiorra's eyes slightly widened in comprehension.

"I see then. Thank you for the additional information, Ichigo." He bowed. "I will be in our room."

"Yeah." Ichigo sighed in desperation, putting his toothbrush back in the cup and rinsing his glass before putting it back in its place next to the other's cups.

"Ulquiorra sure does a number." Grimmjow snickered as they stepped out.

"Oh shut it, Grimmjow. It seems like only yesterday where you mistook liquid soap for shampoo and rubbed it all over your hair. It itched for a while after that, didn't it?" Ichigo snickered, shaking his head in amusement at Grimmjow's embarrassed scowl. "It's funny. I've lost track of the time you've been living with us... but it does look like you're finally picking up on human traditions."

"Why wouldn't we? You humans are interesting." The Sexta Espada snickered and shoved his hands in his light blue pyjama's pockets as they strode inside the room, where Ulquiorra was already lying on his mattress, reading a book Ichigo had lent him a while ago.

"So, where have you gotten to?" the orange-haired teen inquired as he crashed heavily on his bed.

"The second victim's crime scene investigation. Where the Naomi girl realizes what's going on with the BB and QQ's in the situation." He slipped his bookmark in and clamped his book shut, setting it on the night table. "It's quite an interesting read, I must say. You must provide me with more literature of this style once I am done with this one."

"Of course, I have a lot of books like that you might like. And maybe when we have more time, I can show you some mangas that I like. I'm sure you'll like them." The human teenager yawned to accompany his statement, rolling into his covers snugly.

"Oi, Ulquiorra, shut the light. I think we all deserve some rest tonight." Grimmjow yawned as a follow-up to Ichigo's yawn.

"Alright. Good night everyone." Ulquiorra nodded and reached up to turn off the small light he was using to read.

The room was instantly plunged into darkness.

There was some shifting as the three boys made themselves comfortable. After that, silence reigned. Not a single sound was heard, maybe the crickets chirping outside, but even that was drowned out.

And yet, through all the silence and darkness, Grimmjow couldn't sleep. He noiselessly tossed around a bit before realizing it was hopeless.

It was then that his tired brain, almost on impulse, perked up when orange hair came into his view. Seeing as none of them were obviously asleep, he might as well inquire...

"Ichigo..."

There was a shifting movement as the teen tiredly turned to meet Grimmjow.

"What?" he snapped tiredly.

"What's up with your dad and your mom...?" he asked gently, almost hesitant.

Ichigo's eyes immediately sobered, and he got up into a sitting position, looking down at Grimmjow and Ulquiorra.

"Well... You did tell me your secrets, so... I guess it'd only be fair to reveal mine..." Ichigo whispered, looking down at his mattress.

"It would quench our curiosity, to say the least." Ulquiorra immediately butted in, interested.

"Well... When I was small... My mom... Well, basically, she died." He gulped down, receiving no reaction from the Arrancar.

After all, they pretty much figured she'd died seeing as she was never there and _his father held a ritual shrine for her in their living room_.

"She died, but that wasn't the thing... I was with her when she died, and... it was all my fault..." his voice was laced with pain. "If only I hadn't been so distracted... I could've done something... She was attacked by a Hollow and practically took her last breath right before my eyes..." there were no tears in his eyes, but the Espada could tell how much the issue hurt him.

"If it was a Hollow, then there's nothing you could have done..." Ulquiorra whispered.

"Good job, Captain Comfort." Grimmjow sighed hopelessly. "Way to give him a pat on the back."

"No, no, it's okay... I'm over it... I was kinda closed for the two years that followed, and I had a lot of trouble with bullies at school..." the Espada's eyes widened, not being able to imagine Ichigo being harassed by bullies. The picture just didn't match. "And my father had to raise the twins, who were very young at the time, plus take care of me and work at the clinic... It was a tough time to say the least." He suddenly smiled, a sad, melancholic smile, but a smile nonetheless.

The sadness hidden behind that smile was almost excruciating, even for the Arrancars, who had seen it firsthand. It made them wonder if Ichigo too had suffered a lot and had grown to become stronger because of it. That smile, that simple twitch of the face muscles, it revealed, and yet hid so much...

"But we made it. Dad adores mom because he knew that she wanted him to love us like he did and still does, and he prides himself with the fact that he hasn't let her down." He suddenly turned to the two Espada. "You two... mean a lot to him... Almost as much as I do..."

"We do?" Ulquiorra blinked, surprised. "Why?"

"He's getting more chances to redeem himself in front of mom. Taking care of people and loving them, and protecting them is in his nature. He practically considers you two his sons because he took it upon himself to take your lives in his hands. He wants to protect you now, and nothing makes him happier than the knowledge that he's succeeding." He smiled and finally flopped back down in bed. "Sorry, I'm getting emotional over things."

"Pfff, you're saying it as if it's not cool to go emo over things like that sometimes." Grimmjow snickered and dropped back into bed as well, pulling his covers up to his bare shoulders.

"Yes, emotions are what give you a sense of living. You should not be afraid of letting them go loose." Ulquiorra agreed silently, closing his eyes.

"Oh please, Ulquiorra, shut up. You really do crack me up, Mr Emo." The Sexta snickered.

"Well then, Mr Violent Psycho, shut your mouth and get some rest." Said Emo-Arrancar yawned and nuzzled deeper into his covers. "Tomorrow's a new day, and I'm eager to see what will happen next."

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

Ulquiorra woke to the sound of shuffling feet. He groaned as he got up and rubbed his head, his first sight being Ichigo, in his shinigami clothes, running around to do... something.

"What's going on?" he croaked out tiredly, rubbing his eyes. Ichigo stopped in his frenetic run and stared at him seriously. There was a small silence and then...

"Aizen's appeared in Soul Society."

"What?" was the Cuatra's first reaction as he practically shot out of bed to get ready. His numbed muscles practically yelled at him for being so reckless, but somehow, the adrenaline and slight fear pumping in his veins made up for it.

"Urahara's called us. He's opened the Senkaimon so that we can go help." Ichigo's eyes hardened. "Everyone's already there, and who knows... They're probably already fighting, too."

"Then we gotta hurry!" Ulquiorra all but yelled, running to the bathroom. He almost crashed into the door, though, and barely slid to a stop as Grimmjow came out, face dripping with water.

"What's the hurry? Aizen's not gonna kill everyone in the five minutes we're late. Calm down, Ulquiorra. Think about yourself for a moment and get ready." The Sexta smirked before leaving the bathroom to his companion, who rushed in without further ado.

"So, what's the plan?" Ichigo asked as he tucked his human body into the covers. He didn't even need to come up with a plan to justify the fact that we was sleeping for so long. If the need ever arose, Kon would probably just find someone to help him get into his body. At worst, his father was coming with them to Soul Society, so he'd find an alibi and lie to his sisters.

"Well, I'm kinda pissed we never got the chance to practice with our releases one last time, but hey, beggars can't be choosers." He smiled sadly, fumbling around for his Mod Soul candy dispenser.

"True... But I think we're ready. There's no way in hell we can make a mistake this time. We're much stronger than before, and we can do this." Ichigo smiled, looking out the window. There was a small indecisive undertone to his words, but he figured it was just the anxiety and anticipation speaking.

"Got it." Grimmjow huffed out in relief, grabbing his candy dispenser and popping one directly into his mouth.

With a small thumping noise, his body promptly detached itself from its gigai, standing up strongly while the fake body fell down to the mattress and rubbed his head. Grimmjow shifted his zanpakuto on his belt, then looked down at the gigai that was watching him, interested.

"Alright, now listen to me. Stay here, no matter what. You see that body there?" he pointed at Ichigo's dead form, lying covered in bed. "Protect it at all costs, and tell Ulquiorra too when he comes out."

"Yes sir." The Mod-Soul saluted seriously and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alright, where the hell are his Mod Soul candies?" the Sexta muttered, looking around on Ulquiorra's side of the room, under the covers and mattress, around his pillow, or anywhere else he could keep his candy dispenser.

His answer was given when his hands curled around something straight and plastic. He lifted it up quickly to make sure it was the candy dispenser just as Ulquiorra, in his gigai, came rushing in.

"Ulquiorra." He called, throwing him the candy dispenser. The Cuatra quickly grabbed it and popped a candy in his mouth, separating with a light thump.

"Alright, Grimmjow's Mod Soul has the orders. Just stay safe and don't get out of this room!" Ichigo slid the window open, stepping out. "Let's go."

"Right!"

And with a flash, they were gone.

After a couple of minutes of shunpo and sonido, they made it to the front of Urahara's shop, quickly running in. They were greeted with a sleepy-looking Jinta, rearranging stock, and quiet Ururu, cleaning the shelves.

"Oh, Kurosaki..." the red-haired kid yawned. "What's gotten you here so early?"

"Urahara-san is waiting for you downstairs." Ururu quickly informed them, mildly surprising both Jinta and the three teenagers.

"Thanks, Ururu." Ichigo simply nodded and headed for the back, quickly locating the open trap and jumping into it without any hesitation. The Espada followed suit, and they all landed on the familiar rocky ground to the training cave in a very small amount of time.

"Urahara-san!" Grimmjow quickly spotted the blond man standing a bit in the distance, and a couple of shunpo and sonido steps were enough to reach his side.

"About time you got here, Kurosaki, Jaegerjacques, Cifer." He greeted, turning around. His face betrayed no emotion, somewhat scaring the teenagers who were used to his cheery, fun-loving demeanor.

"Sorry, we were kinda late during morning preparations. Is dad already there?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes. Everyone is there but you three, I, and Yoruichi-san. We'll be joining you a little later as we need to tie up some important loose ends here before leaving." He nodded, stepping back to show them a closed Senkaimon. "Now, enough chit-chat. I'll open the gates for you." He waved his hand, and with a craking noise, the gates to Seireitei started opening.

"Where will this send us?" Ichigo asked.

"I think it'll take you to Sokyouku Hill, where the battle is taking place." Urahara scratched his chin pensively.

"You think?" Ulquiorra raised a brow.

"Yes, but hey, it's better than landing in Rukongai, right?" Urahara laughed, back to his old cheery self.

"Yeah yeah, let's just hurry." Ichigo gritted his teeth. "We have ass to kick."

"Right." The two Espada nodded, hands practically twitching as they reached for their zanpakuto.

It seems time almost stopped the moment the gates opened in front of them, casting a bright light.

"Let's go."

And without another word, they jumped fearlessly into the gates, immediately breaking into a run, leaving the real world, and Urahara, behind.

Once more, they were confronted with the problem of the Soul Train, but remembering last time they used shunpo and sonido in the precipice world, they opted for running faster.

"You guys okay?" Ichigo asked as the light at the end of the tunnel neared, the train right behind them.

"Who do you take us for?" Grimmjow snickered, his hand gripping Pantera's hilt.

"Oh forget I said anything. I'm just really unnerved about this all." Ichigo grimaced lightly.

"Don't worry, Ichigo. We'll beat Aizen without even breaking a sweat. We've trained a lot and we've become very strong. Coupled with the Goten Juusantai, we'll be undefeatable. Aizen has made his last mistake today by going to Soul Society." The Cuatra went for his sword as well, seeing as their journey in the precipice world had finally come to an end.

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Hey, there is no place for weakness and being unsure of your choices. Just put everything on the line, and fight your hardest, until your very last breath. It doesn't matter what goes on, you can't let your heart be deceived by the lies and illusions. You, Ichigo, are the only one out of all of us who has never seen Aizen's shikai. You are the one who will beat him for sure. We'll only help you deliver the final blow." Grimmjow smiled encouragingly as the sound of metal against metal resonated in the empty world they were running in.

"That's a hell lot of pressure put on a gamble like me..." Ichigo whispered, eyes downcast.

"Protect your heart, Ichigo. Cast aside the doubt. Only then will you be strong." Ulquiorra recommended, his grip on Murciélago shifting as they nearly reached the end.

"Yes.. Believe in yourself, and your power. Believe in your zanpakuto, trust in Zangetsu to give you the power you need just as I trust in Pantera to support me through whatever and just as Ulquiorra trusts Murciélago with practically his life. You have many people at your side, and we won't let you down, as long as you don't let us, and yourself, down as well."

"Right, thanks, Grimmjow." Ichigo chuckled, drawing Zangetsu and holding it firm. "Now, let's go show Aizen who really is the boss around here!"

And with those words, white light engulfed them.

They jumped out of the gate only a few seconds later, immediately spotting a whole mass of white figures, the Goten Juusantai, and one lone figure with billowing brown hair, their enemy.

"Aizen..." Grimmjow seethed angrily, his grip tightening on Pantera as all three of them came closing in on him. Halfway there, they shunpoed and sonidoed almost on accord, the sound of blades clashing as Aizen and the three teens finally met.

"Good to know you've finally accepted defeat, Aizen." Ichigo grinned, shaking with effort as he pushed Zangetsu against Kyouka Suigetsu, trying to break Aizen's hold. Next to him, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow were struggling to break through Aizen's hierro, swords pushing forcefully against his arm and side.

"Me, defeat? You're always as amusing, Ichigo-kun." The vile man smiled, looking up at Ichigo with contempt in his eyes. "But never as amusing as these two." His gaze trailed down to the Ex-Espada, his ex-underlings, who were doing their best to cut him.

"Oh hell, Aizen, when will you do the world the biggest favour you can and shut up?" Grimmjow snickered, grunting as he flared some reiatsu, pushing it against Aizen's enhanced body armour.

"Oh Grimmjow, always as impertinent." Aizen laughed a small laugh, turning to Ulquiorra. "And Ulquiorra... So submissive, so gentle, so calm..."

"Not anymore..." With one last effort, the Cuatra finally gave a definite push to Murciélago, and blood finally spurted out of Aizen's arm. Almost as if reacting, Grimmjow pushed again, and this time, Pantera cut right through Aizen's hierro, making a sideways gash on his side.

Aizen raised his brow and broke his contact with Ichigo, letting him swipe Kyouka Suigetsu to get the Espada to back off, and shunpoed a little ways away.

"Well then..." he commented calmly, wiping some of the blood on his cuts onto his fingers and staring, as if entranced. "At least I know this battle won't be a total bore."

"I fail to see what you find fun in the fact that you'll soon be defeated." Grimmjow retorted as the three teens reappeared next to the Thirteen Protection Squads' members.

"Kurosaki..." Hitsugaya was the first to call.

"Yeah, sorry we're late." Grimmjow answered in his stead, turning around and greeting the shinigamis with his usual smirk. "My fault, really, for hogging the bathroom this morning."

"That is interesting and all, Grimmjow-kun, but now that you're here, let's all put our strength together and defeat Aizen so that later on, you can tell me what you had for breakfast." Shunsui laughed, not stressed at all, as usual.

"Over a cup of sake?"

"Over a cup of sake."

"Oh, I'm in." Grimmjow grinned and brought his zanpakuto up to his chest horizontally, grinning madly as he drilled his vicious gaze into Aizen. "Grind, PANTERA!"

There was a large whooshing sound as the first out of all of them released their strongest form, a loud roar emanating from the dust picked up all the way from the ground below their feet and swirling around him. When it dispersed, all eyes were on Grimmjow, who was finally released and grinning as he dropped on all for and roared, breaking some of the buildings that were all the way on the ground.

"Well, if Grimmjow gets to release, I do too." Ichigo decided, and pointed at Aizen. "Ban-KAI!" there was a rush of wind all around him, bringing smoke and dust to mingle with it. Once it cleared, Ichigo emerged, pointing his black Bankai at Aizen. "Tensa Zangetsu."

"In that case." Ulquiorra raised his zanpakuto, as calm as ever. "Enclose. Murciélago."

There was a burst of black and green energy that shot out of his zanpakuto, and promptly fell back as reiatsu-like droplets, mimicking rain. Once he emerged, he flexed his long fingernails and looked up at Aizen, secretly enjoying the confused expression that quickly faded from his eyes.

"Resurreccion, Segunda Etapa."

"I never knew you had a second release, Ulquiorra." Aizen commented, amused. "Let's just hope it'll put up as much of a fight as your first release."

"You'll see perfectly once I show you the full extent of my power."

"Well then?" Ichigo finally broke through the awkward silence between the Shinigami, who were staring at the Espada's released forms with fascination. "Do something! Release your Bankais! It's time to fight!"

"Ichigo's right." Renji gritted his teeth. "Bankai! Hihio Zabimaru!"

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

"Bankai, Ryuumon Houzukimaru!"

"Growl, Haineko!"

"Bloom, Fuji Kujaku!"

"Bankai! Jakuho Raikoben!"

"Bankai! Kokujo Tengen Myo'o!"

"Crush, Gegetsuburi!"

"Run, Itegumo!"

"Bankai. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo."

"Snap, Tobiume!"

"Reap, Kazeshini!"

"Flower Wind Rage and Flower God Roar, Heavenly Wind Rage and Heavenly Demon Sneer, Katen Kyoukotsu."

"Raise your Head, Wabisuke!"

"Bankai, Daiguren Hyourinmaru!"

"Waves, Become my Shield. Lightning, Become my Blade! Sogyou no Kotowari!"

As all the smoke cleared, the impressive sight of the lieutenants, captains, and seated officers, all standing strong with either their shikai or bankai released, came into view. It was so impressive that Ichigo and his companions slightly flinched, feeling all the reiatsu emanating from the Thirteen Squads.

"Well well well, looks like the party's started without us."

Another surprise came into view as Urahara and Yoruichi appeared next to them, followed by Shinji and allt he Vizards.

"Sh-Shinji!" Ichigo gasped, surprised. The two Espada simply blinked, trying to remember. It looks like these people, Visored, as they were called, also were hell-bent on helping Soul Society. They sure didn't look like that a while ago when Ichigo had taken them to their hideout to introduce them to each other.

"Oi, Ichigo, sorry we're late. We were following Urahara around for a while before getting here." Shinji grinned his piano-teeth smile amusedly.

"Oi, baka, pay attention to the dickhead just standing there and smirking at us!" Hiyori's voice snapped from next to him, and all attention went to the little girl who crossed her arms angrily.

"Please, Hiyori, clean your tongue, you don't have to get so moody. The fight's just started, after all." Shinji sighed and pulled his zanpakuto out of his sheath. "Collapse. Sakanade."

"Oi oi oi, how come Shinji gets to release his Shikai and I don't? Fuck, Shinji, you're always first to do everything around here." Hiyori growled and pulled her zanpakuto from her back violently, pointing it at Aizen. "Chop Cleanly. Kubikiri Orochi!" she brandished her newly released zanpakuto while slipping her Hollow mask on, quickly imitated by the rest of the Visored.

"Tengumaru..."

"Tachikaze!"

"Kinshara!"

"Haguro Tonbo."

"Well well well, it does seem like I'm the only one yet to release. Ah, gomen for making you wait." Urahara chuckled and pulled out his zanpakuto, still smiling as he did so. "Sing, Benihime."

"Shikai?" Ichigo's eyes widened. "Urahara-san, shikai isn't gonna cut it in this fight. Release your bankai!"

"Ne, ne, Ichigo-kun, I'm sorry to say that my bankai is not fit for group fights like this. Maybe someday I'll show you..." Urahara raised his zanpakuto to face Aizen, who was smiling, as if completely amused by the current situation. "But I'm afraid it's not today."

"Tch, fine then." The Substitute Shinigami shrugged and turned back to Aizen, who had simply stood back and watched as everyone released their strongest forms.

"I'm sorry, were you all done giving yourselves false hope?" he finally inquired, seeing as everyone was already done releasing.

"You, maybe, but we're done deciding on how we'll kick your ass." Grimmjow laughed, thoroughly amused by the calm facade Aizen was putting up in front of so many enemies.

"You do know the Hogyouku has awakened and is now fused with my body, right? There is no way any of you can come even close to defeating me." The defected shinigami smiled gently.

"You must be joking. Look at you, you pitiful creature. You hold onto the Hogyouku, your artificial source of power, because you acknowledge that you are not strong on your own. You amuse me so, dear Aizen-sama." Ulquiorra pronounced the last word with dripping contempt and sarcasm, making Aizen raise a brow.

"Well then, dear Cuatra, would you like me to give you the real meaning of pathetic? Look behind you." He smirked, nodding at the Shinigami, who stood unfazed by his insults and taunts.

If any one of them were going to reply, it never came, because suddenly, a large, gruff voice boomed, making the entire world shudder.

"Enough!"

Everyone's eyes widened as they spotted the Head Captain and his lieutenant walk towards the battleground in the air, slitted eyes open enough to send glares that chilled Aizen to the very bone.

"Aizen Sousuke, ex captain of the fifth squad. You, as a defected shinigami, have no right to return to Soul Society. Under all laws and regulations of Soul Society, I declare your imminent execution." He suddenly dropped his cane, and everyone stiffened as the wood around it dissolved to show a zanpakuto.

"Well, then, I'm sorry to hear that, Jii-chan." Aizen mock bowed, heavily mocking Yamamoto's pet name.

"You, Aizen Sousuke!" Yamamoto bellowed, making a ripple of fear shudder through everyone. "Are hereby accused of treason and various attacks against Soul Society. You shall not go unpunished. Now, die! Reduce All Creations to Ash, Ryuujin Jakka!"

Eyes widened just as the fire spout out of the sword.

With the Head Captain's zanpakuto release, the signal to officially start the battle had been given.

No turning back now.

Grimmjow and Ulquiorra dropped into offensive position, ready to attack at any given moment. With everyone behind them, there's no way they would lose. They hadn't come this far, sweat so much, bled so many times, and fought so hard, only to fail now.

Grimmjow grinned psychotically, anticipation practically bursting out of his veins. He was fidgety, edgy, almost impatient to go and wipe that smug smirk off of his old master's face.

Ulquiorra took a deep breath, calming his impulses that dictated he only jumped on Aizen and clawed at his face until he was no longer recognizable.

Together, they stood by Ichigo's side, behind Yamamoto, showing the entire world that they intended on standing by the Shinigamis' side until the very end. They wouldn't let up on that. Because that was a promise they couldn't afford to break.

"Let's go?" Ichigo finally offered in a small whisper, turning his head only slightly so that the Espada could see the excitement, anticipation, and yet slight fear dancing in his chocolate brown eyes, reflected off in the glint that Ryuujin Jakka's flames created in his eyes.

"Of course. There's no way we'll lose this battle." Grimmjow comforted the younger teen with his soft gaze.

"No time to regret now." Ulquiorra nodded, tail swishing around lazily.

"Well then, whenever you're ready." Ichigo pulled Zangetsu closer to himself, hearing his sword's comforting words through his soul.

"Now." The two Espada turned to each other, smiled lightly, and nodded in unison.

Almost as if coordinated, the three main pieces of the chessboard jumped for Aizen.

No fear, no hesitation.

They couldn't have any of those hindering their thoughts and actions.

They were here to kill and that is all. To kill the source of their pain and suffering, to kill, to destroy, to wipe away from all the unclean memories.

They would have to make that effort and overstep their boundaries. No longer were they Hollows, and for a moment, they even felt like Shinigami. That strong, comforting presence around them that meant that they were surrounded and protected, it warmed their newborn hearts and gave them strength to survive.

Even through the toughest storms and worst injuries, they'd go on. They'd go on for the sake of the people who accepted them no matter what, and most of all...

They'd go on for Ichigo.

Ichigo, the Shinigami who saved their lives and gave them everything they'd never had without a second thought. Ichigo, the Shinigami who cared for you without caring who you were. Ichigo, the one person in their entire lives whom they'd die to protect. For he was the one who'd given them power, and he'd be the one who required their strength the most.

Ichigo was the center of their world. He saved them and accepted them, something they'd been dreaming of ever since the start of their lives. Ichigo was... important to them.

After all, in their entire lives, he was the only one who taught them the useful things they needed to live, and not only survive. All the time with Aizen, they thought he was the one who'd teach them that. But with Ichigo, even though they initially thought they were learning to die... in reality, they'd been Learning to Live.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**CLIFFHANGER ENDING *is repeatedly shot until she is full of holes like swiss cheese* Sorry, that is all. I should tell ya that finishing fics with the title is kinda like my trademark. So yeah, don't be , the rest is up to you. Do they win, or do they lose? How?  
**

**The part where Ichigo told Grimmy and Ulqui about his mom was requested by PCOrigami. Thanks so much, I really had fun with the scene, and plus, it fits so well! ^^**

**Also, the first person to correctly name all the owners of the zanpakuto releases in ORDER will win a fabulous prize! A cameo in my next story (more info below)! You don't need to write the release commands and names of the weapon, just give me names. Ex.: Unohana, Sentaro, Kaien, Isshin... By the way, none of those example names are in there xD As for the releases, I simply used whichever version of the release I knew of. Some of them haven't revealed their bankai yet, so I used their shikai. Also, you don't need to tell me whose zanpakuto are the Visored's zanpakuto names. Just the Shinigami.  
**

**Well then, I now have 2 pictures to post on DA and 1 more I never finished coloring in time, so I hope I'll be able to finish it by the end of the week since it's Christmas themed. Also, I gotta scat now, I still haven't finished making my New Year's dress and the party is in about 3h30 D:**

**I just wanna inform you all that a new Bleach story is underway at this very moment. It's an AU high school fic called "Behind Tinted Windows", and I've written both the prologue and the first chapter already. Let me say it's... quite interesting, to say the least. Here's a preview, taken from the first chapter.**

"_**Hey... Are those... tinted windows?"**_

"_**Tinted windows?" I asked, climbing on my bed to get a better view out of the window. "Where?"**_

"_**Everywhere, in fact. All their house. All their windows are tinted." He shuddered. "You think it's cause they don't like being disturbed? I'm sure old man Luisenbarn didn't have those."**_

"_**No, no, Mr Barragan had normal windows, I think, up until the moment he died. Then those people bought the house from Ggio, his adoptive son, and installed those windows, I guess." I shrugged.**_

"_**Maybe it's a family of serial killers and they don't want anyone to see the corpses they hang inside on the walls." Shiro marvelled.**_

"_**Oh Shiro, you can have such excessive imagination sometimes." I laughed. "Maybe they just don't like being spied on, which is exactly what you're doing at this very moment."**_

"_**You're right, I guess." He shrugged and finally turned to me. "Still, you do seem to have eccentric neighbours here."**_

"_**Come to think of it..." I put my finger to my chin pensively. "I've never seen our new neighbours. At all."**_

**SOOOO obviously, the main characters are gonna be Ichigo, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and SHIRO (Hollow Ichigo) cause, well, he's awesome ._. So I hope you'll follow that as well. The first chapters should come up in mid-January.**

**And so, with that, I wish you all a very happy New Year 2011. My best wishes to every single one of you and your families and friends. May the New Year 2011 bring more happiness than 2010 :D I don't know about you, but we're about 7 hours away from the new year. Also, I don't think I'll be replying to reviews today, so yeah...**

**Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who read this far. I seriously have gotten so far without you. I hope we'll meet again soon, in another fic or so (: Thanks sooo much for all your support and constructive criticism, and I hope you'll have the niceness to write one last review for this story. I luff you all. Happy New Year 2011. And talk to you soon~**

**~LoZ4L**


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